
Class ^i.__; 



Book >4 3 P^ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



X 



I Record 

OF 

Mr. Alcott's School, 



EXEMPLIFYING THE 

PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF 
MORAL CULTURE. 

THIRD EDITION, REVISED. 




' BOSTON: 4 

ROBERTS BROTHERS. 

1S74. 



/ 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 

A. B. ALCOTT, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



CAMBRIDGE: 
PRESS" OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 



^ 



TREFACE TO THE TIIIED EDITION. 



nnHE great interest inspired by Miss Alcott's 
" Little Men " has led to the inquiry if ever 
there was or could be a school like Plumfield ; and 
she has proposed the republication of the " Record 
of a School," which was published thirty-eight years 
ago, and which suggested some of the scenes de- 
scribed in "Little Men." 

In a note that lies before me Miss Alcott says : 
" The methods of education so successfully tried in 
the Temple long ago are so kindly welcomed now, 
— even the very imperfect hints in the story,— -that 
I cannot consent to receive the thanks and commen- 
dations due to another. 

" Not only is it a duty and a pleasure, but there 
is a certain fitness in making the childish fiction 
of the daughter play the grateful part of herald to 
the wise and beautiful truths of the father, — - truths 
which, for thirty years, have been silently, helpfully 
living in the hearts and memories of the pupils who 



4 PREFACE. 

never have forgotten the influences of that time and 
teacher." 

In acceding to this proposition, I find myself, 
however, in the somewhat embarrassing position of 
seeming to affirm some crude ideas of my own, in- 
evitably mingled with the narrative, and which in 
thirty-six years have given place to clearer ones. 
While my maturer age indorses the instinct which 
led me to set forth so lovingly this actual and most 
genuine outgrowth of Mr. Alcott's mind, and I 
believe with him — now as then — that education 
must be moral, intellectual, and spiritual, as well as 
physical, from the very beginning of life, I have 
come to doubt the details of his method of proce- 
dure ; and I think that he will not disagree with 
me that Froebel's method of cultivating children 
through artistic production, in the childish sphere 
of affection and fancy, is a healthier and more effec- 
tive way than self-inspection, for at least those years 
of a child's life before the age of seven. 

But while I say this in justice to my own maturer 
ideas of education, which at the present moment I 
am very much engaged in propagating, and would 
embody in institutions, I have a sacred respect for 
the experiment made by Mr. Alcott. I believe his 
school was a marked benefit to every child with 



PREFACE. 5 

wliom he came into communication ; for he was a 
greater influence, immeasurably, than his specific 
method. The moral communion effected by his 
vicarious punishment of himself for their faults was 
unquestionably deep, in proportion to its genuineness 
in himself. What I witnessed in his school-room 
threw for me a new light into the profoundest mys- 
teries that have been consecrated by the Christian 
symbols ; and the study of childhood made there I 
would not exchange for any thing else I have expe- 
rienced in life. For I believe it enabled me to un- 
derstand, as I should not otherwise have done, the 
depth and scope of that consummate act of earliest 
education, which we owe to Froebel. 

E. p. PEABODY. 

Cambridge, August, 1873. 



EECOEDEPt'S PREFACE. 



"1 T 7"HEN" the author of the following pages began 
the journal which makes the staple of this 
book, it was with the idea of collecting more facts 
than she already had in her recollection wherewith 
to illustrate some general views which she deems of 
great importance. Being engaged in teaching an 
hour or two each day in Mr. Alcott's school, and 
being led, by her confidence in his general prin- 
ciples, to look with interest upon the details of his 
instruction, she found that so much of children's 
minds were brought out upon moral and intellectual 
subjects in wo7'ds, that she was induced to keep a 
record by way of verifying to herself and others the 
principles acted upon. 

This record she has received Mr. Alcott's permis- 
sion to print in this volume. He, indeed, is not 
without the hope that these slight details, published 
in connection with a discussion of principles, may 
lead to a better appreciation of his own views and 



8 FBEFACE. 

plans than could be otherwise brought about, ex- 
cepting, indeed, by the slow process of waiting 
results in the children's ultimate experience ; which 
method of verification might perhaps leave him, in 
the interval, without a sufficient number of pupils 
on jv^hom to exert his influence, or, to speak more 
accurately, the influence of those great principles 
of moral culture of which he would fain be the 
mediator by removing inward and outward obstacles 
to their full and harmonious development in the 
individuals committed to his care. The author, 
therefore, has availed herself of the advantage of 
bringing this practical and obvious illustration of 
principles which she has never before seen system- 
atically applied to any school of children under ten 
years of age, and which she has only, in the course 
of her own duties, had an opportunity to test on 
individuals. 

For it is well known that even in our cultivated 
community vague ideas prevail of a truly spiritual 
education. The most enlightened people rarely 
think of sending their children to school except to 
make attainments in this or that branch of intel- 
lectual culture ; as if any full, complete, and lively 
intellectual culture could take place without con 
stant reference, on the part both of teacher and of 



PREFACE. 9 

pupil, to that spiritual nature, a consciousness of 
which precedes the development of the understand- 
ing, and is to outlive and look back on the greatest 
attainments of natural science, as the child looks 
back on his picture alphabet from the height of 
communion with the highest expression of genius 
in human language. 

The author, however, is not going to complain 
of the want of confidence and co-operation with a 
teacher, which must flow from such inadequate 
views. For she has to be grateful, individually, to 
many who trusted her for many years, when she 
was almost afraid to trust herself, and never could 
have done so with any steadiness, unless aided by 
that generous sympathy which overlooked her fluct- 
uations of spiritual strength, and forgave her mis- 
takes of detail. Besides, she is well aware that the 
profession of teaching has not deserved more faith 
than it has obtained, taking it as it has been at least 
for the last century. It is perhaps not easy to say 
where, originally, the fault lay. But the fact cannot 
be denied, that this employment has been too often 
assumed, on the part of teachers, with avowedly 
mercenary ends, or at least for secondary purposes ; 
and that, on the part of parents, there has not been 
an importunate demand for a better spirit where it 



10 PRE 

was wanting, nor always a ready sympathy and 
appreciation of it where it existed, — not even in a 
community where the teachers of adults — the cler- 
ical profession — have been held up to an almost 
ideal standard. 

This little book makes no high pretensions. It is 
in address to parents who are often heard to express 
heir want of such principles, and such a plan, as 
it is even in the author's power to afford. It will 
perhaps be more useful than if it were a more 
elaborate performance ; for many will take up the 
record of an actual school, and endeavor to under- 
stand its principles and plans, who would shrink 
from undertaking to master a work professing to 
sweep, from zenith to nadir, a subject which has its 
roots and issues in eternity, as this great subject of 
education certainly has. 

E. P. PEABODY 
Boston, June, 1835. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Plans 13 

Journal of the School 38 

Self-Analysis 167 

Conclusion -236 

Explanatory 245 



THE 



EECORD OF A SCHOOL. 



I. 

PLANS. 



"]\ /TR. ALCOTT reopened his school in Boston, after 
-^^-^ four years' interval, Se^Dtember, 1834, at the 
Masonic Temple. 

Conceiving that the objects which meet the senses 
every day for years must necessarily mold the mind, 
he chose a spacious room, and ornamented it, not with 
such furniture as only an upholsterer can ai3preciate, but 
with such forms as would address and cultivate the 
imagination and heart. 

In the four corners of the room, therefore, he placed, 
upon pedestals, busts of Socrates, Shakspeare, Milton, 
and Scott; and on a table, before the large Gothic 
window by which the room is lighted, the Image of 
Silence, " with his finger up, as though he said. Beware." 
Opposite this window was his own desk, whose front is 
the arc of a circle. On this he placed a small figure of 
a child aspiring. Behind was a very large bookcase, 
with closets below, a black tablet above, and two shelves 
filled with books. A fine cast of Christ in basso-relievo, 
fixed into this bookcase, is made to appear to the 



l-i RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

scholars just over the teacher's head. The bookcase, 
itself is surmounted with a bust of Plato. 

On the northern side of the room, opposite the door, 
was the table of the assistant, with a small figure of 
Atlas bending under the weight of the world. On a 
Small bookcase behind the assistant's chair were placed 
figures of a child reading and a child drawing. Some 
old pictures, one of Harding's portraits, and several 
maps were hung on the Avails. 

The desks for the scholars, with conveniences for 
placing all their books in sight, and with black tablets 
hung over them, which swing forward when they wish 
to use them, are placed against the wall round the 
room, that when in their seats for study no scholar need 
look at another. On the right hand of Mr. Alcott is a 
sofa for the accommodation of visitors, and a small 
table with a pitcher and bowl. Great advantages arise 
from this room, every part of which speaks the thoughts 
of Genius. It is a silent reproach upon rudeness. 

About twenty children came the first day. They 
were all under ten years of age, excej^ting two or three 
girls. I became his assistant, to teach Latin to such as 
might desire to learn. 

Mr. Alcott sat behind his desk, and the children were 
placed in chairs in a large arc around him ; the chairs so 
far apart that they could not easily touch each other. 
He then asked each one separately what idea he or she 
had of the purpose of coming to school. To learn, was 
the first answer. To learn what? By pursuing this 
question, all the common exercises of the school were 



PLANS. 



15 



brought up hy the children themselves; and vanous 
subierts of arts, science, and philosophy. Still Mr. 
Alcott intimated that this was not all ; and at last some 
one said, " To behave well ; " and in pursuing this expres- 
sion into its meanings, they at last agreed that they 
came to learn to feel rightly, to think nghtly, and to 
act rio-htly. A' boy of seven years old suggested that 
the most important of these three was right action. 

Simple as all this seems, it would hardly be beheved 
what an evident exercise it was to the children, to be 
led of themselves to form and express these conceptions 
and few steps of reasoning. Every face was eager and 
interested. From right actions, the conversation natu- 
rally led into the means of bringing them out. And 
the necessity of feeling in earnest, of thinking clearly, 
and of school discipline, was talked over School dis- 
cipline was very carefully considered ; both Mr. Alcott s 
duty, and the children's duties, also various means of 
producing attention, self-control, perseverance, faithful- 
ness Among these means, correction was mentioned ; 
and after a consideration of its natvu-e and issues, they 
all ao-reed that it was necessary, and that they pre- 
feiTed Mr. Alcott should con-ect them rather than leave 
them in their faults, and that it was his duty todo so. 
Various punishments were mentioned, and hurting he 
body was admitted to be necessary and desirable 
whenever words were found insufficient to command the 
memory of conscience. 

After this conversation, which involved many anec- 
dotes, many supposed cases, and many judgments, Mr. 



16 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Alcott read " The Peacbes " from Krummaclier's Para^ 
bles, a story which mvolves the free action of three boys 
of different characters ; and questioned them respecting 
their opinion of these boys, and the princij^les on which 
it was seen by analysis that they acted. ISTearly three 
hours passed away in this conversation and reading ; 
and then they were asked, how long they had been sit- 
ting ; none of them thought more than an hour. After 
recess Mr. Alcott heard them read, and, after that, spell. 
All could read in such a book as Miss Edgeworth's 
" Frank." Each was then asked what he had learned, 
and, having told, they were dismissed one by one. The 
whole effect of the day seemed to be a combination of 
quieting influences, with an awakening effect upon the 
heart and mind. 

The next day, a conversation somewhat like the 
former was commenced; and Mr. Alcott showed that 
he intended to have profound attention. When any 
one's eyes wandered, he waited to have them return to 
him, and he required that they should sit very still in 
their comfortable chairs. The questions, by interesting 
them very much, aided them in this effort. After re- 
calling the conclusions of the day before, more fibles 
were read. These he paraphrased, interrupting himself 
continually to enforce what was read, by addressing it 
particularly to individuals ; requiring them now to guess 
what was coming next, and now to tell what they 
thought of things said and done. All then read and 
spelled, and, after recess, were placed in their seats, 
where each found a ruled blank-book and a lead pencil, 



PLANS. 17 

with a printed volume, from which they were directed 
to copy a passage. Only half a dozen could write. He 
told the rest, even the youngest, to copy the words in 
printed letters, and this occujiied them very diligently 
until school was done. 

Mr. Alcott's mode of teaching^ the art of writinir is 
the result of a good deal of thought, having gi'own out 
of his own experience as a teacher. He early discov- 
ered how to obtain a ready command of his pen, 
without instruction from others ; and, having reasoned 
on the methods which necessity suggested to himself, he 
has reduced them very happily to their i^rincij^les, and 
constructed them into a natural system, whose results 
are worth noticing in this place. 

When children are committed to his charge very 
young, the first discipline to which he puts them is of 
the eye, by making them familiar with pictures. The 
art of Drawinoj has well been called the art of learnincr 
to see ; and perhaps no j^erson ever began to learn to 
draw, without astonishment at finding how imperfectly 
he had always been seeing. He finds that the most 
common forms are not only very falsely defined on his 
sense, but a vast deal that is before the eyes is entirely 
overlooked. The human mind seems very gradually to 
descend from its own infinity into the details of the 
finite ; and the senses give but little helj:) when unaided 
by a practised mmd. It has been demonstrated, not 
only by the acute reasonings of philosophers, but by 
observations made on persons * who have begun to see 

* The Scotch bo^ Mitchell and Casper Hauser, for instance. 

2 



18 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

at late periods of life, that the eye sees scarcely any 
thing but what the mind has suggested beforehand. 
Yet by a reciprocal influence of the mind and the organ, 
this " avenue of wisdom " may become very broad. By 
attention to children's habits, and by exercise, their 
minds may very early attain great perfection in the use 
of this organ, than which none is finer of all that are 
given to us. The phrenologists say it was their first 
discovery, that persons who had prominent eyes were 
remarkable for their powers of learning and using 
language. Now, since all language is founded on 
imagery, it follows that perfect organs of sight give to 
the mind vivid impressions of the forms of things, 
making the language of the individual picturesque and 
lively ; and thus, even without resorting to the theory 
of Phrenology, the fact of prominent or fine eyes, con- 
nected with great powers of language, has an explana- 
tion. But without reference to this influence of clear 
vision upon expression, there can be no doubt of its 
effect upon thought. The forms of things are God's 
address to the human soul. They are the first incite- 
ments to activity of mind ; or, to speak more accurately, 
they are the first su23porters of that activity which is 
the nature of the mind, and which can only be checked 
by the soul's being starved of Nature. 

It is from considerations of this kind that Mr. Alcott 
very early presents to children pictured forms of things ; 
and he selects them in the confidence that the general 
character of these forms will do much toward setting 
the direction of the current of activity, esj^ecially if we 



PLANS. 19 

attend to and favor those primal sympathies with which 
Nature seems to wed different minds to different 
portions of the universe. But tlie practice of the eye 
in looking at forms, and that of the hand in imitating 
them, should be simultaneous. Mr. Alcott thinks the 
slate and pencil, or the chalk and blackboard, can hardly 
be given too early. The latter is even better than the 
former ; for children should have free scope, as we find 
that their first shapings are usually gigantic. And is it 
not best that they should be so ? Miniature, when it 
appears first in the order of development, seems to be 
always the effect of checked^ spirit or some artificial 
influence. 

With such education of the eye, as a preliminary, 
reading and writing are begun simultaneously ; and the 
former will be very much facilitated, and the latter 
come to perfection, in a much shorter time than by the 
usual mode. By copying print, which does not require 
such a sweej^ of hand as the script character, a clear 
image of each letter is gradually fixed in the mind; 
and while the graceful curves of the script are not 
attained till afterwards, yet they are attained quite as 
early as by the common method of beginning with 
them; and the clearness and distinctness of print is 
retained in the script, which, from being left to form 
itself so freely, becomes also characteristic of each 
individual's particular mind. 

When the pages were presented to Mr. Alcott after 
their first trial, the hieroglyphics were sufiiciently un- 
intelligible, it must be confessed. But (and this is- 



20 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

another proof of how slowly the mind appreciates the 
arbitrary and finite ) the serious looks of the children, 
especially of the younger ones, as they exhibited their 
strange coj^ies^ betrayed no misgivings as to the want of 
resemblance ; nor did Mr. Alcott rudely point it out. 
He took the writing for what it was meant to be; 
knowing that practice would at once mend the eye and 
hand, but that criticism would check the desirable 
courage and self-confidence. 

In the course of a few days, tablets were placed at 
the desk of each child, on which were large forms of 
the letters; and they were encouraged to imitate them. 
It soon became a regular arrangement for the children 
to pass their first school hour at this employment, and 
to return to it after the recess. After some weeks, they 
w^ere taught the small script letter, but not to supersede 
the exercises in printing. Indeed, throughout the whole 
teaching, Mr. Alcott recommends that this system of 
printing should be retained (especially in all those 
written exercises which children are tempted to slight) ; 
for it prevents the habit of indistinct writing, by keep- 
ing the imagination wonted to the original forms of the 
letters. 

The ultimate and sure result of this plan is a simple, 
unflourishing chirography, whose great and character- 
istic merit is intelUgibleness ; and constant practice in 
writing the script gradually adds to this merit the 
grace of beauty. When a child begins on this plan of 
wiiting at five years of age, by the time he is seven or 
eight he has much of the ease of the jDractised penman, 



PLANS. 21 

combining considerable rapidity with perfect intelli- 
gibleness and a fair degree of beauty. Mr. Alcott has 
verified this in hundreds of instances, in his own schools, 
within ten years. There is a vast deal of difference, 
however, in the improvement of individuals ; and the 
process cannot be hurried. Time will accomplish it, 
sooner or later, in all instances. 

It was soon found that Mr. Alcott, with all his mild- 
ness, was very strict. When sitting at their writing, 
he would not allow the least intercommunication, and 
every whisper was taken notice of. When they sat in 
the semicircle around him, they were not only requested 
to be silent, but to appear attentive to him ; and any 
infringement of the spirit of this rule would arrest his 
reading, and he would wait, however long it might be, 
until attention was restored. For some time the ac- 
quirement of this habit of stillness and attention was 
the most prominent object ; for it was found that many 
of the children had very little self-control, very weak 
attention, very self-indulgent habits. Some had no 
humility, and defended themselves in the wrong ; there 
was some correction; but still, in every individual 
instance, it was granted as necessary, not only by the 
whole school, but it was never given without the assent 
of the individual himself, and never given in the room. 
Sometimes — in the pauses of the reading, for instance 
— the innocent were obliged to suffer with the guilty. 
Mr. Alcott wished both parties to feel that this was the 
inevitable consequence of moral evil in this world ; and 
that the good, in proportion to the depth of their prin- 



22 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

cijole, feel it to be worth wHle to share the suffering, in 
order to bring the guilty to rectitude and moral sensi- 
bility. 

On these occasions, he conversed with them, and, by 
a series of questions, led them to come to conclusions 
for themselves upon moral conduct in various particu- 
lars ; teaching them how to examine themselves, and to 
discriminate their animal and spiritual natures, or their 
outward and inward life, and showing them how the 
inward molds the outward. They were deeply inter- 
ested in these conversations, as they would constantly 
declare; although, at first, those who were oftenest 
revealing to themselves and others their hitherto un- 
recognized weaknesses and faults were so deeply morti- 
fied that it was often painful. The youngest scholars 
were as much interested as the oldest ; and, although it 
was necessary to explain language to them rather more, 
it was found less necessary to reason on moral subjects. 
Tliey did not so often inquire the history of an idea or 
feeling ; but they analyzed the feelings which prompt 
action better. It was very striking to see how much 
nearer the kingdom of heaven (if by this expression is 
meant the felt authority of moral principles) were the 
little children than were those who had begun to pride 
themselves on knowing something. We could not 
but often remark to each other, how unworthy the 
name of knowledge was that superficial acquirement 
which has nothing to do with self-knowledge ; and how 
much more susceptible to the impressions of genius, as 
well as how much more apprehensive of general truths, 



PLANS. 23 

were those who had not been hackneyed by a false 
education. 

A great deal of time was given to explaining the 
philosophy of Expression. They were taught to see 
that sculpture, painting, and words, were only different 
modes of expression ; and the casts in the room were 
spoken of, and they were led to explain those that were 
ideal. Then they were led to consider gestures, and 
the rationale of manners ; and were shown that, as the 
positions and motions of their bodies were produced by 
the mind, the mind could control them, and that they 
w^ere responsible for the impressions they conveyed in 
this way, especially while they were forming their 
habits, and had not yet become wonted to particular 
ones. Lastly, they were led to consider how words 
body forth thoughts, signing external objects, and sug- 
gesting internal facts of the spirit. External flict was. 
discriminated from internal truth, and the youngest 
children were exercised on such questions as these ; Is 
lone in the mind, or out of the mind ? Is size in the 
mind, or out of the mind ? Is a hooJc in the mind, or 
out of the mind ? Is a table in the mind, or out of tho 
mind ? They soon were able to answer, and seldom 
made a mistake, especially the younger ones. 

One great means, however, of making this subject 
thoroughly understood was by reading to them, and 
fastening their attention, and then bringing them to 
attend to the fact of having been thus chained to their 
chairs by thoughts and feelings in their own minds, 
which words had waked up. _As Mr. Alcott read, his 



24 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

eyes sought all their faces ; a wandering mind was im- 
mediately detected, and its sign pointed out; and he 
required them, at any moment that he chose to stop, to 
repeat what he had last said in their own language, to 
describe the picture he was calling up, or to give the 
meaning of the allegory. And as the matter was 
intensely interesting, taken from the master-works of 
genius, he succeeded in gaining attention, and also its 
outward signs. They were soon able to catch the mean- 
ing of emblems, so as to preclude the necessity of 
explanations; indeed, from the first, explanations were 
elicited from themselves, and not given dogmatically. 

" Emblems " (to quote Mr. Alcott's own words in a 
letter to myself) "I have found to be extremely attrac- 
tive and instructive to children. I could not teach 
without them. My own mind would sufier, were it not 
nurtured upon ideas in this form ; and spiritual instruc- 
tion is best imparted by these means. The universal 
spirit flows into man and nature through these media ; 
and sense and imagination are the faculties that receive 
the divine stream, — the one from without, and the 
other from within, — and pour it upon the soul. The 
manner of Jesus and of Plato is authority, were any 
needed, to show what the mind requires in order to be 
quickened and renewed. 'Without a parable spake he 
not unto them.' Neither should the teacher of spiritual 
truth nowadays. By neglecting this mode of instruc- 
tion, we have shorn the young mind of its beams. Wr 
have made it prosaic, literal, worldly. We have stripr 
Truth naked, instead of allowing her to clothe herse*^ 



PLANS. 25 

with the beautiful associations in which she presents 
herself in infancy and childhood." 

It was in pursuance of these ideas that Mr. Alcott 
took so much pains at first to bring out clearly in the 
children's consciousness a conception of the spiritual 
world, as alone having permanence and reality, not- 
withstanding its invisibleness. And when he read, he 
constantly asked questions calculated to keep attention 
on the ideas in the author's mind, that were clothed 
with imagery, or signed by words. So successful was 
he in fixing attention on the spiritual part of any 
matter, that not only tlie imagery of poetry, but every 
incident of a narrative, was listened to with an air of 
thought and investigation not always seen in. adult 
hearers of reading. 

Their own reading lessons were also made subser- 
vient to this object. Thus, in reading in "Frank " the 
passage beginning, " There was one part of a winter's 
evening which Frank liked particularly," Mr. Alcott 
called on each one to describe the room, as it pictured 
itself out in his thoughts ; asking questions about the 
curtains, chairs, tables, situations of persons in the 
rooms, &c. Each had a distinct and differing picture 
from the rest. 

It is plain that not a great deal of ground can be 
passed over ; but the effect is to make the reading very 
expressive, by keeping the author's mind constantly 
before the readers, and interesting them in his thoughts. 
There is no greater illusion than the common idea 
of the method of learning to read by pronouncing 



26 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

pages of matter, which is not moA^ing the heart and 
mind of the reader. 

In teaching reading, in the first instance, Mr. Alcott's 
method has also been much misunderstood; and, 
because he thinks a child should never be hurried into 
or over the mechanical part of the process, some im- 
agine that he does not think it important for children 
to learn to read at all ! It will probably, however, be 
difficult to find children who know so well how to use 
a book when they are eight years old as those who 
have been taught on his method, which never allows a 
single step to be taken, in any stage of the process, 
without a great deal of thinking on the part of the 
child. Perhaps a general adoption of Mr. Alcott's 
ideas on this subject would lead to some check upon 
the habits of superficial reading, which do so much to 
counterbalance all the advantages arising from our pro- 
fusion of books. 

It is a common remark, that the age of much reading 
is not an age of creative power. Yet why should it 
not be ? Would the mind cease its own appropriate 
action, if fed with proper food, in the proper way? 
Can we doubt that there is some error in the general 
method of acquirement, when it is accompanied by a 
growing inaction of the creative, that is, the highest 
faculties of the soul ? Mr. Alcott thinks that every book 
read should be an event to a child ; and all his plans of 
teaching keep steadily in view the object of making 
books live, breathe, and speak; and he considers the 
glib reading which we hear in some schools as a pre- 



.FLANS. 27 

ventive rather than as an aid to his purposes He has 
himself no doubt as to the ultimate result, not only 
upon the intellectual powers, but upon the very enun- 
ciation of the words, which cannot fail to borrow 
energy and life from the thoughts and feelings they 
awaken within the soul of the reader. 

But the best reading which children can do for them- 
selves, in the early stages of their education, cannot 
supersede the necessity of the teacher's reading a great 
deal to them ; because it is desirable that they should 
early be put in possession of the thoughts of genius, and 
made to sympathize in the feelings inspired by their 
master-works, as well as have their taste formed on the 
highest models. 

This is the more important, because our children's 
books are not often w^orks of genius. In one of Mr. 
Alcott's letters, from which I have already quoted^ 
he also says, " It would not be easy to form a library 
suited to the wants of the young from modern w^orks. 
We have few, very few, that nurture the spiritual life. 
A dozen volumes perhaps would include all that are of 
a quickening and sustaining power. On subjects of 
mere fancy or of fact w^e have many ; but these, if read 
exclusively, too often dissipate the minds of the young, 
and materialize their spirits. I have been seeking suit- 
able w^orks for these last ten years, and my library is 
still scanty ; yet within this period hundreds of volumes 
have been contributed to our juvenile literature. 

"Modern works, indeed, whether for children or 
adults, are too often wanting both in depth and purity 



28 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

of sentiment. Seldom do they contain original or 
striking views of life and of hmiian institutions. There 
is dearth of thought and sterility of sentiment among 
us. Literature, art, philosophy, life, are devoid of fresh- 
ness, ideality, verity, and spirit. 

" The works of ancient writers of a more vivid and 
spiritual character, are seldom to be found in our book- 
stores. 

"In truth, we have fallen so far below the high 
standard of those authors, both in thought and style, 
that we fail to appreciate their beauties of language, 
their richness and profoundness of thought, their deli- 
cacy and humanity of sentiment. How affluent are 
those deep-thoughted minds ! How full of wisdom and 
love! Their thoughts flow from the heart, — clear, 
strong, quickening, effective ! Open any of these works, 
and you are upon a deep, rich, fresh thought, clad in 
imagery, all aglow with life ; you feel yourself at once 
in communion with a great sj^irit ; your spiritual facul- 
ties are quickening into being, and asserting their pre- 
rogative of insight. You are charmed into reflection. 
Since the days of Milton, there are few writers whose 
works require a serene and thoughtful spirit in order to 
be understood. We seek in vain for depth, freshness; 
the meaning is on the surface ; the charm, if there be 
any, is no deej^er than the fancy ; the imagination is not 
called into life; the thoughts are carried creepingiy 
along the earth, and often lost amid the low and 
uncleanly things of sense and custom. 

" In the discharge of my duties as teacher, therefore, 



FLANS. 29 

I have found few books to aid me. I have been thrown 
on my own resources, collecting from circumstances, or 
creating from the ideal of my own mind, the material 
for the spiritual nurture of children. Of the few works 
that have become established favorites with my scholars, 
the Bible, 'Pilgrim's Progress,' 'The Fairy Queen,' 
Krummacher's Parables, ' The Story without an End,' 
Miss Edgeworth's Stories, are most attractive. 

" It is from such books that I read oftenest to chil- 
dren ; for Imagination is the soul's shaping power, and, 
when rightly nurtured, it clothes the spirit in the robes 
of truth. If there be any fact settled by the history 
of our race, it is that Imagination has been the lead- 
ins: lisrht to mankind. What, indeed, is Genius but 
this faculty in its liveliest activity ? And Genius has 
shaped the institutions of society in all past ages. We 
need schools not alone for the inculcation of knowl- 
edge, but for the development of Genius, — the creative 
attribute of Spirit. And no instruction deserves the 
name that does not quicken this, — its essential life, — 
and fit it for representation in literature, art, or philos- 
ophy." 

" Pilgrim's Progress," read with many omissions and 
some paraphrase of the text, was for the first three 
months the greatest favorite in this school. The Bible 
was the next favorite. In March, the test being put, it 
w^as found that the scholars were less willing to give up 
readings in the Bible than any thing else. The read- 
ings in the Bible were not confined to particular seasons, 
but were called to meet the occasions of the moment, 



30 RECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

as was Kruramacher, which was taken up whenever the 
influence of his beautiful spirit was needed to illustrate 
the subject of thought on hand. Mr. Alcott also read 
to them the Allegory of the Cave from Plato's Repub- 
lic, which they themselves explained, and which they 
admired very much; and the death of Socrates from 
the Phaedo, which called forth their tears, and was only 
second in effect to the story of the Crucifixion, whose 
life-enkindling sublimity absorbed even its j^athos. 

But I am anticipating results. The spiritual eye, 
once shut, is not immediately opened. At first we had 
some trouble with the older scholars, who affected to 
laugh at the simplicity of the incidents in Krummacher ; 
but when they found afterwards that they had included, 
unawares, some of the standard works of literature in 
what they called Mr. Alcott's " baby stories," they were 
shamed into silence, and their next step was to endeavor 
to interest themselves as much as they could, in the 
spiritual things, that, in spite of themselves, became 
more and more attractive. 

The first two months were given up almost entirely 
to this preliminary discipline. Two hours and a half 
every day were divided between tlie readings and 
conversations on conduct, and the comparative impor- 
tance of things within and without. The government 
was decided and clear from the first, but was not 
hurried beyond the comprehension of the children ; for 
Mr. Alcott is so thoroughly convinced that all effectual 
government must be self-government, that he much 
prefers that all the operations of school should obviously 



PLANS. 31 

stand still than that they should apparently go on 
while really standing still or going back in any individ- 
ual instance. If it should be objected to this principle, 
that the good are here made to wait upon the bad, it 
may be answered, that the good are learning the divin- 
est part of human action, when they are taught to wait 
upon the bad for their improvement ; and that there are 
seldom such actual discrepancies in children of but a 
few years of age as that any harm can result to the best 
from being brought to the contemplation of the worst, 
especially when the worst, as in every case in this 
school, express themselves sincerely desirous of becom- 
ing better, and not one is so bad as not to have been 
able to ask for correction at some gracious season. 

One thing, however, should be remarked as a caution 
to young teachers. It will be seen in the subsequent 
Journal that Mr. Alcott is very autocratic. But it 
must be remembered that this is dano-erous jri'ound for 
a young or rather for an inexperienced teacher to take. 
It is not, in this instance, taken by an inexperienced 
teacher. Mr. Alcott has taught school for twelve years. 
During the first several years, he felt himself hardly 
any thing but a learner on this sacred ground. He did 
not, for many years, enforce authority in any instance, 
unless it was sanctioned by the unanimous voice of a 
school, sometimes of a school of a hundred pupils. So 
reverent was he of the voice of nature, that he chose to 
hear all its varying tones before he ventured to feel 
that he sufficiently understood what he was dealing 
with to raise his voice above theirs, in confidence of 



32 BECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

harmonizing them. Mr. Alcott's autocracy, therefore, 
is not derivative, but original. It is drawn from expe- 
rience and observation ; and I should add, it continually 
takes counsel from its sources. And is not this a 
legitimate autocracy, in the moral sense of the word ? 
Are not the laws of human nature sufficiently intelli- 
gible to enable sensibility, observation, and years of 
experience, to construct a system whose general prin- 
ciples need not be reviewed in every instance of ai3i3lica- 
tion to every scholar? It is true that every scholar 
may afford new phenomena ; and that the teacher who 
does not observe these as materials of thought, in 
private review of the principles on which he acts, 
thereby to enlarge them, or to rectify such small errors 
of application as the wisest may fall into, omits the best 
means of perfecting himself and his art. Besides, a 
teacher never should forget that the mind he is direct- 
ing may be on a larger scale than his own ; that its 
sensibilities may be deeper, tenderer, wider; that its 
imagination may be swifter ; that its intellectual power 
of proportioning and reasoning may be more powerful ; 
and he should ever have the humility to feel .himself at 
times in the place of a child, and the magnanimity to 
teach him how to defend himself against his own {i.e. 
the teacher's) influence. By such humility, he will 
also be in the best road towards that deeply felt self- 
reliance which is founded on sober self-estimation, 
although entirely removed from vanity. 

Before dismissing the subject of Discipline, I will 
attempt, however, to explain Mr. Alcott's ideas upon 



PLANS. 33 

punishment, rather more at Large than by the occasional 
hints on the subject, scattered up and down the Journal, 
since there are some mistakes prevalent concerning his 
views. 

When he first began to teach school, he thought 
no punishment was desirable, and spent much time 
in reasoning. But, besides that this consumed a great 
deal of time that might have been better spent, he was 
convinced, in the course of his observations, that the 
passions of the soul could not in all cases be met by an 
address to the understanding, and only were diverted, 
not conquered, by being reasoned with. What would 
excite feeling, he found must be brought to bear upon 
wrong feeling, when that actually existed, and to rouse 
sensibility when there was a deficiency. 

Deeper observations of life and of human nature con- 
vinced him that the ministry of pain was God's great 
means of developing strength and elevation of charac- 
ter; and that children should early understand this, 
that they might accept it as a moral blessing. He, 
therefore, introduced punishment by name, and found 
that, in theorizing on the subject wdth his scholars, there 
was a general feeling of its desirableness and necessity ; 
and he never failed in obtaining their consent to it as a 
general principle. On some occasions, there was to be 
corporeal correction, to consist of one blow with a 
ferule upon the palm of the hand, more or less severe 
according to the age and necessities of the pupil. When 
this was administered, it was always to be accompanied 
with conversation, and given in the anteroom ; though 

3 



84 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

he made an exception once, wlien one of the oldest boys 
wantonly disobeyed, for the purpose of displaying to his 
companions his daring spirit, and needed the mortifica- 
tion of seeing himself humbled before the rest. To the 
credit of the children, it must be granted that they 
received this kind of correction without deserting the 
general principle which they acknowledged at the begin- 
ning, and with constant acknowledgment of Mr. Alcott's 
justice and good-will towards them. They considered 
it much less severe than to be sent into the anteroom 
when he was reading. 

One morning, when he was opening " Pilgrim's Prog- 
ress " to read, he said that those who had whispered or 
broken any rule since they came into school might rise 
to be corrected. About a dozen rose. He told them 
they might go into the anteroom, and stay there while 
he was reading. They did so. The reading was very 
ii^teresting, though it had been read before ; for every 
new reading brings new associations and peculiar con- 
versation. Those in the anteroom could hear the 
occasional bursts of feelinsr which the readino- and con- 
versation elicited. A lady who was present went out 
just before the reading closed, and found those who 
had been sent out sitting, looking very disconsolate and 
perfectly quiet, though no directions had been given to 
them. She expressed her regret at their losing the 
interesting reading. Oh, yes, we know ! said they ; we 
have heard them shout. Nothing is so interesting as 
" Pilgrim's Progress " and the conversations, said one. 
We would rather have been punished any other way 



PLANS. 35 

said another. "When they were called in, they said the 
same thing to Mr. Alcott. He asked, Why ? Because 
the blow would have been over in a minute, said one 
boy. But this conversation can never be, another time, 
«aid another. 

Having brought the whole school to this state of 
feeling, Mr. Alcott introduced a new mode. He talked 
with them ; and having again adverted to the necessity 
of pain, in a general point of view, and brought them 
to acknowledge the uses of this hurting of the body 
(as he always phrased it) in concentrating attention, 
&c , he said that he should have it administered upon 
his own hand for a time, instead of theirs, but that the 
guilty person must do it. They declared that they 
would never do it. They said they preferred being 
punished themselves. But he determined that they 
should not escape the pain and the shame of adminis.- 
tering the stroke upon him, except by being themselves 
blameless. 

On the morning this was announced, which Avas the 
1st of March, there was a profound stillness. Boys 
who had never been affected before, and to whom bodily 
punishment was a very small afiair, as far as its pain 
was concerned, were completely sobered. There was a 
more complete silence, attention, and obedience than 
there had ever been. And the only exceptions, which 
were experiments, were rigidly noticed. Mr. Alcott, in 
two instances, took boys into the anteroom to do it 
They were very unwilling, and at first they did h 
lightly. He then asked them if they thought that the^ 



86 BECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

deserved no more punishment than that. And so they 
"were obliged to give it hard ; but it was not without 
tears, which they never had shed when punished them- 
selves. This is the most complete punishment that a 
master ever invented, was the observation of one of 
the boys at home ; Mr. Alcott has secured obedience 
now; there is not a boy in school but what would 
a great deal rather be punished himself than punish 
him. 

It must be observed, however, that the point of ^dew 
in which this punishment is presented to the minds of 
children is not to satisfy the claims of any inexorable 
law, but to give a pain which may awaken a solemn 
attention, and touch the heart to love and generosity. 
The children do not feel that they escape punishment ; 
for it is taken for granted that they feel a greater pain 
in seeing others suffer than they would in suffering 
themselves. But its great object is to display to them 
that Mr. Alcott's infliction of punishment is not want 
of feeling for their bodies, but a deeper and intense 
interest in their souls. 

And this was completely effected. A new sense of 
the worth and importance of that for which he was 
willing to suffer pain seemed to spring up all around, 
while the unquestionable generosity of it was not only 
understood, but felt to be contagious. One boy of 
nine years of age, who was one day superintendent, 
and obliged, in the discharge of his duty, to put on his 
slate the names of several boys, some of whom seemed 
to look forward to theu' correction as a frolic, and one 



PLANS. 37 

of whom cried for fear, begged so hard to be allowed 
to receive the strokes himself, that he Avas allowed to 
do so ; and it had the most gracious effect both on him- 
self and the rest. The real exercise of magnanimity 
necessarily elevates the one who rises to it, and who is 
by nature incapable of vanity (the weakness of the 
selfish), while the spectacle of it works on the dullest 
and the coldest. Of course such scenes must be rare ; 
but their occurrence even once is enough to spiritual- 
ize all the punishments of the school in which such a 
circumstance happens. 



n. 

JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 

^ I ^HE Journal was at first suggested as an assistance 
-*- to the discipline of the school. It was found 
x^ery useful at the end of the school hours, to recall to 
the children all that had j^assed. Some of the individ- 
ual reproofs are now omitted, as not suited for publi- 
cation ; but a few are retained, to show their style and 
nature. I here also omit the details of all the lessons, 
excepting those on the spelling, defining, and reading 
of English, which were always the first exercises of 
the morning, and are made more especially subservient 
to the main objects of the school. 

Before beginning the Journal I must, however, pre- 
mise, in justice both to the school and myself, that, my 
record being made at the moment, a great deal was 
omitted. I found it impossible to seize and fix with 
my pen many of the most beautiful turns and episodes 
of the conversation, especially as I took part myself, 
and tlie various associations of thought in so large a 
company often produced transitions too abrupt for my 
tardy pen to follow, and graceful, humorous, and touch- 
ing turns of thought and expression which could hardly 
be recorded by the most skilful reporter. 

December 2i)th. — When I arrived at the school-room, 
just after nine o'clock this morning, I found all the chil- 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 39 

• . . . 

dren sitting quietly at their desks, engaged in writing 

their journals or their spelling lessons. During this 
time of silent study, Mr. Alcott generally walks about 
the room, preparing pencils and pens at each seat, and 
making i-emarks. For the study of this lesson, an hour 
is generally ai:>propriated, which gives time for the jour- 
nalists also to learn it. About a quarter before ten, 
Mr. Alcott takes the seven younger members of this 
spelling class, as they cannot use a dictionary very 
intelligently, and lets them si^ell the words over to 
him, and he tells them their meanings. Of this the 
rest of the class can take advantage, if they choose. 
All, however, are thrown into one class at ten o'clock, 
when two concentric semicircles are formed in fi'ont of 
Mr. Alcott's table, and the spelling, defining, and illus- 
tration of the words bemn. The arrans-ements are 
made without words on the part of the scholai's. All 
turn i-ound in their seats quietly, and form a semicircle 
around Mr. Alcott's desk. Every chair is at a little 
distance from its neighbor's, of which the size of the 
room admits, and which is an easy mode of preventing 
intercommunication. Mr. Alcott shows much judgment 
in diminishing temptation by his arrangements. And 
every day, before they turn in their seats, he reminds 
them that it can be done without noise. It is very 
desirable to speak to children beforehand in regard to 
all such things, for they fail in such duties from want 
of forethought rather than from insensibility to the 
obligations of duty ; and, while they are always grate- 
fiil for being prevented from doing wrong, they are 



40 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

often depressed by being reproved for it when it is 
inadvertent. 

Thirty words were spelled ; and then they were taken 
up one by one, and not merely defined, but illustrations 
of all their meanings, literal and imaginative, were 
given, either by original or remembered sentences, 
which contained the word in question. This course 
led often to disquisitions on the subject to which the 
word was tyj^ically applied. 

During this lesson on words, which Mr. Alcott con- 
siders one of the most important exercises in the 
school, he requires profound attention from every 
scholar. A whisper, a movement, a wandering look, 
arrests him in what he says, and he immediately calls 
the scholar by name. When he asks a question, 
every one who can answer it must raise a hand, and 
he selects one — sometimes he asks every member of 
the class — to give what is in his mind \\\)oyi the word. 
The most general and strict attention is the result. 

Lone was the first word defined. Did you ever feel 
lone, lonely? said Mr. Alcott. Yes. Always, when 
there was no person present ? No. Ever, when there 
were people present ? Yes. This led to the conclusion 
that lonehness was in the mind, a feeling independent 
of circumstances, as one could be alone in a crowd ; but 
that feeling could not exist when the soul was conscious 
of the omnipresent friendship of its Father, as it may 
always be. 

IjOoJc was defined. How does the soul look out? 
said Mr. Alcott. Through the eyes. How does the 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 41 

soul look in ? A very little boy said, By tlie tnoughts 
turning round. A large boy said, The soul looks in 
with the eyes as well as out. IMr. Alcott said. Is not 
the soul itself an eye? And what is reflection? Re- 
flection, said a girl twelve years old, seems to imply a 
looking-glass. Mr. Alcott replied, It is not the best 
name for the act of mind I was speaking of; there is a 
better word for this, — thought. One of the little boys 
asked what was the name of the soul's look upon 
things. Mr. Alcott said it was commonly named Per- 
ception, and added. Perhaps all the shapes we see with- 
out pre-exist in the mind, and are perfect, whether the 
Bliape without is so or not. He illustrated this by asking 
them if the man who made the Temple did not have a 
picture in his mind of the Temple before it was made, &c. 

Meek was defined, and Mr. Alcott described a meek 
character, and asked if there were any meek ones- 
in school, and whether they knew who these were; 
but they need not say. Let each one think for himself 
whether he is meek. One boy said. If I thought I was 
meek, I would not say so, lest the other boys should 
say I was proud. He passed on, and they defined more 
words, which were talked over in the same way. 

Then there was recess half an hour. And after recess 
I took my Latin scholars into the anteroom ; and Mr. 
Alcott heard the rest read in "Frank," and parse 
English.* 

* The details of the more scholastic exercises are omitted, 
because they would not be interesting to the reader. But it is 
hoped that it will be observed that these exercises take up at least 
two hours every day. 



42 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Decemher Wth. — When I came to school, I found all 
the children in their seats, at their lessons. Mr. Alcott, 
who was walking round as usual, was saying to one oi' 
the journalists : You are engaged in recording what hap- 
pens out of you ; its advantage is to make you feel and 
remember what effect all outward events, and your 
action on what is outward, may have on your inward 
state of mind. You write down the picture made by 
your mind on things. I hope you will soon write the 
thoughts and feelings that come up from your soul 
about these things. These thoughts and feelings are 
your inward life. Do you understand what I mean by 
this assertion, — the spiritual world is the inward life of 
all things? All the journalists were looking at him as 
he asked this question; and replied very animatedly, 
Yes, and then turned back to their writing. 

While attending to the smaller division to-day, Mr. 
Alcott was once or twice interrupted by the speaking 
in a whisper of some of the girls, and by one of the boys 
making a noise with his book ; he spoke to them to show 
them that they interfered by this thoughtlessness with 
his hearing the lesson, and he contrasted their noisy 
movement with his own quiet ones in making his 
arrangements. Mr. Alcott requires' profound quietness 
in school. He thinks that children are morally bene- 
fited by being obliged to exercise such constant self- 
control ; and he presents to them this as a motive not 
less frequently than the convenience of others. In 
giving to the smaller division instruction upon the 
spelling lesson, he showed to them how the words 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 43 

inight be pronounced wrong, and spelled wrong, and 
thus fixed their attention upon the precise letters used, 
and their sounds in each particular instance. 

When it was ten o'clock, Mr. Alcott observed that the 
hour for spelling had come, but that they could not 
turn round quietly without thought. They turned 
very quietly. Remarks were made to some boys, 
because they had made a noise with their books ; he 
said it could be avoided by arrangement. He illus- 
trated the subject by referring to what was a good 
machine. A perfect machine, he said, Avas one which 
made the least noise. Every wheel moved so as not to 
interfere with the other parts, in a perfect machine. 
When the machine of this school was perfect, every 
wheel, that is, every boy and girl, would move without 
jarring against any other. Two boys said they were 
not wheels, they were sure; and one added that he did- 
not know what Mr. Alcott meant. Mr. Alcott, wiio 
doubted his ingenuousness, expressed surprise at his 
want of imagination, but very carefully explained his 
fi<2:urative Ian2:ua2;e. All the rest seemed to understand. 

He asked if anybody would want any thing during 
the hour of recitation. One boy asked for some water 
to drink, but soon after acknowledged that he did not 
need any, and he would not take it when told that he 
might. Mr. Alcott had suggested that when one boy 
went for water, it excited the desire in several others ; 
this, perhaps, led him to feel that it was wrong to ask 
for it. Some of the younger boys asked to go out, and 
were allowed to do so ; and Mr. Alcott waited for them 



44 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

to return, making remarks all the time. He then jDro- 
nounced the words, which were all spelled right ; and, 
to illustrate the definitions, he gave the meanings, and 
asked them to guess w^hat the words were. Some con- 
siderations were thus brought up in regard to words 
nearly synonymous, and the discriminations between 
them. 

A good deal was said about the word nice^ which was 
decided as meaning attention to small things. The 
word node was referred to its Latin original ; and the 
figure, by which the intersection of the moon's orbit 
with the earth's is called a node, was explained. 

The word no7ie was referred to its origin in the words 
no-one. Mr. Alcott asked them if they could think of 
nothing at all, or if they did not think of some or one 
in order to be able to get the abstract idea of nothing. 
I do not remember this metaphysical disquisition, which, 
of course, consisted of questions, intended to give them a 
realizing sense of their not understanding unity, and 
wdiich i^robably conveyed nothing more. Mr. Alcott 
thinks it wise to let the children learn the limits of the 
understanding by occasionally feeling them. 

Afterwards Mr. Alcott remarked that when they 
obtained one thought, they possessed more than a 
person who had earned many thousand dollars. The 
oldest boy said he thought five thousand dollars was 
better than a thought. Another boy said that he 
should rather have five thousand dollars than all the 
thoughts he had had this last hour. Mr. Alcott said, 
Here is a boy that prefers five thousand dollars to his 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 45 

mind. The boy replied that he did not do that, but 
only to the thoughts of this last hour. Mr. Alcott said 
that the thoughts even of this hour were mind. Tlie 
boy replied that the thoughts of the last hour were not 
all his mind. Mr. Alcott said that was very true, and 
possibly he had thought no thoughts in the last hour ; 
but he was going on the supposition that he had had 
thoughts, when he said that the last hour was worth 
more to him than five thousand dollars. One boy said 
he should prefer five thousand dollars to the thoughts 
of this last hour, even if he had had any. Mr. Alcott 
said it was very often the case that the desire for the 
latter interfered with that of the former; Jesus had 
said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of 
a needle than for a rich man to be a Christian, which, 
in those times, involved giving up his riches, and putting 
them in a common stock. One boy said he wanted 
money for his relations. There -was a good deal of 
conversation on this subject; and as it closed, Mr. 
Alcott asked them if they were sorry to hear such kind 
of conversation. If any of them did not like it, he 
wished they would hold up their hands. No one held 
up his hands. 

The word pall led to the consideration of the source 
of palling. It was because the soul was not alive and 
active. The other meanings of the word were also told. 

The word p>cihn led to the consideration of palmistry 
and its absurdity; and to an inquiry into the true 
sources of knowledge, which opened out an interesting 
field of remark. 



46 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

The word ^:>am led to a consideration of the uses 
of pain. He spoke of Pain as a good angel with a 
mask. 

The word ji:>«n^ first led to a consideration of the 
word setisation ; for it was defined a sudden sensation, 
and sensation, the boy said, was a feeling. Then one 
said, A pang is a sudden sensation of pain. Another said, 
Two boys were swimming, one had a sudden pang of 
the cramp. Another said. When a master says he is 
going to keep me after school, I feel a pang. It was 
thought that pang did not refer to bodily pain so often 
as to mental, and especially to moral pains. One boy 
said that men felt pangs when they were turned *6ut 
of heaven. Mr. Alcott asked him if he thought God 
turned people out of heaven. A little girl said, that 
was a pang that came when one told a lie. A boy said 
a murderer felt a pang. Mr. Alcott then returned to 
the turning out of heaven, and said. Whenever you are 
angry, you turn yourself out of heaven. The boy said 
he did not mean heaven in that sense. Mr. Alcott 
asked him if heaven was a 23lace, and God sitting there, 
tumbling people out of heaven : is that the picture in 
your mind ? All the boys seemed to feel the absurdity 
of this. Mr. Alcott said, Wicked things turn the soul 
out of heaven, for heaven is a state. 

While talking of this, he interrupted himself and 
said. But you are tired of this conversation : they all 
burst forth that they were not. Show it to me, then, by 
your attentive looks, said he ; and he went on, and told 
a short story wliich had the word pelt in it, in order to 



JOURNAL OF TEE SCHOOL. 47 

illustrate the word. The story was of a boy stealing 
apples. The three oldest boys seemed to think they 
should have done as the boy did, because they thought 
tlie stealing showed the boy's courage and spirit. And 
his impudence to an old man in the story seemed to be 
more admirable still in their eyes ; and they said they 
would not have acknowledged the fault and asked 
pardon. Mr. Alcott made some remarks to lead them 
to think that it was really magnanimous to ask pardon 
when in the wrong. But they did not acknowledge 
themselves convinced. 

After recess, I took my Latin scholars into the other 
room, and Mr. Alcott heard the others read and parse, 
and gave them arithmetic lessons. 

January 1, 1835. — I arrived a few minutes past nine, 
and found most of the children at the school. There 
were many exclamations as the children entered, one 
by one, of "Happy new year!" which Mr. Alcott 
allowed, although it is generally the rule that not a 
word should be spoken. 

The older scholars were writing their journals, and 
the younger the words of the spelling lessons. 

As Mr. Alcott was walking round, mending the pens 
and preparing the pencils, he talked to the children, as 
he passed them, about the difference between happiness 
and pleasure, and the sources of happiness. 

Having suggested the grammatical exercise to the 
elder scholars, as a means of filling up the hour if they 
should learn their lesson in spelling and defining before 
he was ready to hear it, Mr. Alcott attended to the 



48 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

division of the class before him. First, he pronounced 
all the words in the lesson, and then each of the class 
pronounced them. Having done this, he directed their 
attention to the marks of accent, sound, an,d quantity 
over the words, and asked them if they knew what 
they meant; they said. No. He said he would tell 
them what they meant. He then described these little 
marks, and led them to observe their forms, and told 
them he should ask them to describe them to him 
another day. 

It is very important, in teaching young children, to 
direct their attention very carefully to things in detail, 
and to each detail at a separate time, for the synthetic 
is the first mode of perception ; it is an effort for the 
mind to analyze the tout-ensemhle of sensation or of 
thought into the parts.. The intuitive act of the mind 
puts things together. A child not only associates out- 
ward things with each other very rapidly, but associates 
the actual picture with the ideal whole, and merges the 
boundaries of the finite in the great infinite from which 
it has lately drawn its being. Other people cannot aid 
the intuitions of the mind, so much as its analyses and 
its understanding. In one sense, however, the intui- 
tions of the mind may be aided : they may be helped 
by sympathy, and by removing all the hindrances of 
development. But the imderstanding process can be 
helf)ed a good deal ; and it must be done by directing 
the attention to details, by directing the senses^ for 
(although this is a fiict that teachers do not generally 
advert to) the education of the senses in children is 



JOURNAL OF TEE SCHOOL. 49 

naturally behind that of the higher faculties of the 
soul. Emotions, feelings, intuitions, come first, and 
interfere with the perceptions of the external world, by 
their over-mastering predominance. 

At ten o'clock, Mr. Alcott told the rest of the school 
to turn round, but not until he had remarked that there 
was a wrong and a right way of doing it. He then 
told the small division of the class to open their books, 
and look upon them while he heard the older division 
spell. He first spelled the words himself and required 
them to pronounce them, and this led to some remarks 
upon particular words whose pronounciation is dis- 
puted. He required them afterwards to spell the words 
to him. 

After the words were spelled, Mr. Alcott asked those 
to hold up their hands who had been as attentive as 
they would have been to a coasting frolic. Some held 
up their hands, and some did not. He then said that 
whoever interrupted him while the definitions were 
talked about, might be deprived of the pleasure of 
recess, and asked if that was just; they all held up 
their hands that it was just. 

The word 7iooJc was put out, and defined corner. He 
then asked if there was a nook in the room, which led 
to a doubt of the perfect accuracy of this definition. 
He asked if any one remembered a line of poetry in 
which the word nook occurred, for it was a word oftener 
used in poetry than in prose. One boy remembered a 
line. Mr. Alcott asked if they had any nooks in tlieir 
minds. Some said they had. Mr. Alcott said he was 

4 



50 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

sorry, — that a perfect mind had no nooks, no secret 
places. 

The Avord nose led to a consideration of its uses, and 
its convenient situation in our own faces, and also in 
the heads of those animals who need a still more per- 
fect organ for their purposes. There was a long con- 
versation about cultivating the senses, and on the abuse 
of the senses by cultivating them too much. 

The word note was referred to its Latin original. 
Mr. Alcott said he should like to have them give a 
practical definition of it ; he wished they w^ould note 
him and his instiiictions. All the derivatives, notion^ 
notice^ notary^ &c., were considered. 

The word noun was referred to its Latin original 
nomen. Mr. Alcott defined noun as the name of any 
object in the mind or out of the mind ; as the verbal 
type of the object of thought, whether existing in or 
shaped out of the mind; and then he asked each one 
to tell him what a noun was, and they all gave answers, 
some of which he corrected, filling up those that were 
inadequate. He then took up a book, and asked what 
that was ; some said a book, and some said a noun. 
Tie said, AVhat 1 is this book a noun ? they replied. No, 
the word hook is a noun. He asked if the book was 
existing in or shaped out of the mind ; they replied, 
Shaped out. He asked if the hour-glass was existing 
or shaped out; they said, out. He asked how it 
w^as with virtue; and they said, In the mind. New 
year, they said, was both out and in. He then took 
up "Frank," and read words which they referred to 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 51 

the right chisses, whether denoting in or out of the 
mind. 

The word null was defined annihihite ; hut the word 
annihilate was not pronounced right, and it was evi- 
dently a mere dictionary definition. Mr. Alcott said 
null meant void, without force or meaning: some 
23eople's words are null; some people's characters ap- 
l>ear null. He then si)oke of the derivatives mdlify 
and nullification., but he did not enter into their signifi- 
cation very fully. 

It was eleven o'clock, and they began to fidget ; Mr. 
Alcott asked who was tired of explaining these words ; 
and one of the boys held up his hand. Mr. Alcott 
asked another boy what a word was ; he replied, some- 
thing made out of letters. The next boy said, A word 
is a thought shaped out by letters. Mr. Alcott replied, 
Or a feeling; feeling may be denoted by articulate 
sounds also ; as oh ! ah ! &c. Why do you come to 
school ? To learn, said several. Yes, said he, to learn 
words ; to learn to w^ord your thoughts ; this is a Avord 
shop. What do you come to school for, then? he 
repeated. To buy words, said one. I said. To word 
your thoughts. Words, then, are the signs of thoughts. 
What great things words are ! a word has saved a Ufe 
when spoken at the' right time. 

The word park led to a description of the chase, 
which afforded many animating j^ictures. These were 
the most important words defined. 

At twelve o'clock, all the children came in, and found 
their slates ready ; those around Mr. Alcott's table had 



52 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

sums to do from Fowle's Child's Arithmetic. The rest, 
except the seven oldest, found their slates ready for a 
grammatical exercise, for which the words were to be 
found in Frank. 

The reading lesson was Pinckney's " Evergreens," in 
the Commonplace Book. 

Wlien summer's sunny hues adorn 

Sky, forest, hill, and meadow, 
The foliage of the evergreens 

In contrast seems a shadow. 
But when the tints of autumn have 

Their sober reign asserted, 
The landscape that cold shadow shows 

Into a light converted. 
Thus thoughts that frown upon our mirth 

Will smile upon our sorrow; 
And many dark fears of to-day 

Will be bright hopes to-morrow. 

Mr. Alcott asked. What is the subject ? Evergreens. 
Whose thoughts are these? Pinckney's. What are 
evergreens? Plants which are green all the year. 
Have you seen any, in any house or church, lately? 
Yes, in the Episcopal churches. Can evergreens be 
made to mean any thing ? There was no answer, and 
he added : I suppose there is nothing in the external 
world, but it will suggest to us some thoughts. Before 
we observe what thoughts Pinckney has on evergreens, 
let us think what evergreens suggest to us. What do 
you think they teach you about death ? They thought 
evergreens rather taught about life, and the soul which 
lasts for ever, than death. Mr. Alcott remarked that 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 53 

neither Mr. Pinckney or the evergreens were here ; the 
question is, how can we get thouglits about the ever- 
greens from his mind ? By his words, they said. 

There was a noise. Mr. Alcott turned to the boy 
that made it, and said that the greatest and most power- 
ful things made no noise. Did you ever hear the sun 
make a noise? There was immediately a profound 
stillness. 

Then the class read the lesson, each one reading the 
whole ; and so did Mr. Alcott. He asked which they 
liked best, the descriptive or the reflective part ? One 
boy said, the descriptive ; the rest, that the reflection 
at the end was most interesting. He asked if any of 
them, in looking at outward objects, as Mr. Pinckney 
did in this instance, were conscious of reflections like 
these ? Some of them thought they were. He asked 
them where they lived most, — in the outward world, • 
or in the inward world of thought and feeling. Various 
answers were given ; one thought she was growing to 
live in the inward world more and more every day. 
Mr. Alcott asked if they knew any one who lived a 
great deal in the inward world. They said, Yes ; and 
he said he also knew a man who lived a reflective, 
spiritual, inward life more than almost any other ; and 
yet he seemed to enjoy the outward world more than 
other persons, who lived in it exclusively; and when he 
spoke, he gave the most beautiful descriptions of what- 
ever was outward. How was that ? It was because 
his mind was in harmony (and he felt its harmony) 
with the outward world. They guessed he was speak- 



54 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

ing of a certain individual whom they named, which led 
to some anecdotes concerning him. I tokl them of a 
remark this individual once made on hearing a lady 
sing after the interval of a year, when he perceived 
that his pleasure in hearing music was increased, al- 
thouo-h the acuteness of his hearingr was diminished; 
and an analogous remark w^hich he made, on seeing a 
cast of the Venus six years after seeing the original. 
Both of these remarks were calculated to prove that 
the improvement of the mind could more than counter- 
balance the decay of the senses, in giving us the per- 
ception of beauty in forms and sounds. 

When the reading and conversation w^ere over, Mr. 
Alcott called on the children to paraphrase the two 
first verses of this poetry ; and to paint out in their 
minds distinctly the two pictures, of summer evergreens 
dark in the midst of gorgeousness, and of autumn ever- 
greens bright amid the wintry landscape. He then 
asked them if they had ever experienced the change 
of the aspect of a thought under different circum- 
stances. This question required a good deal of illus- 
tration and explanation, especially as they are hardly 
old enough to have experienced much of this change. 
He afterwards paraphrased the piece himself, but said 
he had not done it well. He told them they might all 
turn round and w^rite a paraphrase themselves. 

Mr. Alcott then took the class in the Child's Arith- 
metic, and asked the first boy to read the first question, 
and answer it, which he did. (All of them had the 
books, in which there were questions without answers.) 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 55 

He went roiiiid tlie class, cnlling on each to read and 
to answer the questions one after anotlier. 

After this lesson, he told these little boys to put 
down their aritlinietics and take their Franks; and 
then he told those who had been attending to the 
grammar exercise to turn round in their places and 
take their Franks also. It was now one o'clock ; and 
many of the cliildren had leave from their parents to 
go home, and consequently lost this lesson. 

He commenced the parsing lesson by making them 
analyze the first sentence, and put the words into 
the grammatical clauses, and he put the words down on 
the blackboard as they suggested. Verbs and partici- 
ples were classed together under the head of actions. 
Pronouns were called substitutes; nouns were called 
objects ; prepositions were called relations ; adverbs and 
adjectives were called qualities ; adverbs of time were 
set aside without any name. He explained prepositions 
thus: He asked what relation a book that he held in 
his hand had to a bunch of pens on the table. They 
said 0De7\ Having asked a dozen such questions, he 
showed them tha^ they gave prepositions for the 
answers every time. He then referred to their books, 
and made them tell what relations the prepositions in 
the passage before them denoted. He asked them 
about the word the^ and, finding they did not know how 
to class it, it was passed over. The word cottage in cot- 
tage-garden was placed properly among the quahties. 

This was the same passage which the larger part of 
the class had been arranoino: on their slates while the 



5Q BEGORD OF A SCHOOL, 

arithmetic and the reading of poetry had been going 
on. 

After this was over, he asked if any one in school 
thought he required of them too much self-control. 
One boy held up his hand, but immediately after he 
said he was not serious. Mr. Alcott said he should be 
obliged to have a talk with him, he being the oldest 
boy in school, and often doing this foolish thing of hold- 
ing up his hand when he meant nothing. He made 
several personal observations to individuals to whom he 
had been obliged to speak, for fidgety movements, &c. ; 
asking them if they understood what he wished of them. 
His object in this was merely to bring out into their 
conceptions his wishes, as he supposed there was no 
intentional, but only thoughtless irregularity. 

January 2d. — I arrived at the school-room this morn- 
ing at nine o'clock, and found some of the children at 
their journals, and some writing the spelling lesson as 
usual. But a large proportion of the pupils were tardy. 
This is unavoidable with such young pupils in mid- 
winter, especially as the habits of Boston people are 
not for very early breakfasts. The children seem to 
come as soon as breakfast is over. 

There is one study which is pursued at home ; this is 
Geometry. And I hear the lessons as soon as I arrive 
in the morning ; going to the seat of each one sepa- 
rately, and then explaining the next lesson, for them 
to learn at home. 

One or two children spoke as they came in this 
morning; and Mr. Alcott sent them out, to come in 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 67 

quietly. He chooses that they shall come into school • 
in perfect silence, and take their lessons without a 
whisper to one another ; and this is generally eftected 
without his being obliged to send any one out. It is 
very important to the quietness of a school that the 
children should not begin to play in the morning. If 
all intercommunication is forbidden until they are fairly 
interested in their lessons, much trouble is prevented. 

During the first hour, Mr. Alcott says as little as 
possible, that he may not interrupt the study and 
journals. A boy came in who had been absent some 
days; and Mr. Alcott said his next neighbor could, 
without speaking, show him the place. His neighbor 
said, " He ha'n't got no spelling-book," which of course 
did not pass without revision by Mr. Alcott. Mr. 
Alcott then stepped out, remarking, before he went, 
that he presumed that they would be equally quiet 
as when he was here. Some were ; but about half the 
school whispered and made signs, or took playthings 
out of their pockets. One boy left his seat, and was out 
of it when Mr. Alcott came in, who asked him what he 
was up for. He acknowledged that he went to ask a 
question quite extraneous to the school. Some con- 
versation ensued on faithfulness. 

At quarter before ten, Mr. Alcott took the smaller 
division of the class, and heard them pronounce and 
spell their lesson. As it had some hard words in it, 
though they were of one syllable, he made them each 
spell every word. Mr. Alcott was sometimes inter- 
rupted by the boys, at their seats, drumming with their 



\ 



58 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

pencils ; and he stopped and spoke to them. He had 
some difficulty, too, in hearing some of his class who 
spoke low, and it took a little longer than usual to heal- 
th is division. 

At quarter past ten, the class turned in their seats 
very quietly. Two boys who arc deaf were moved next 
to Mr. Alcott. 

Mr. Alcott asked the oldest boy what word should be 
discussed first; for we should not have time for all. He 
said " oath." Each scholar gave his own definition, and 
seemed to confound profane swearing with oaths in a 
court of justice. A great deal of conversation arose 
upon the obligation of oaths, and tlie sin of profane 
swearing. He asked if any of the boys present ever 
swore. About a dozen of them held up their hands. 
After a good deal of talk, and apparently general 
resolution not to swear any more, there were some 
remarks upon "idle words." After it was over, he 
asked those who had been interested in this conversa- 
tion to hold up their hands ; the}^ all agreed that it was 
very interesting, and hoped they should be influenced 
by it in future. 

After recess I went into the anteroom to give the 
Latin lesson ; while Mr. Alcott gave arithmetic lessons 
to each of the two younger divisions of the school. 
After the aritlimctic, they took their Franks; and when 
I came in, I found Mr. Alcott i)utting dowm their 
analysis of a passage in the scale on the blackboard. 

Jamtarij ?>d. — As it was Saturday, the day when 
Mr. Alcott generally reads from the Bible, the spelhng 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 69 

lesson was put off until after recess; and they w. .e 
arranged in their chairs, in two semicircles around 1 Jni. 
He then began : — 

Do any look forward to the ensuing hour with 
pleasure ? One boy said he did not. You may go and 
coast. Will any other boy go? Another boy said he 
wouhl. Mr. Alcott told them they might go; but 
neitlier stirred. He told them they niiglit go hito the 
anteroom, which was warm; but neither of them went. 
And without farther notice of them Mr. Alcott turned 
to his reading, and asked one of the youngest boys what 
he was going to read. The Bible, said he. Are there 
any stories in the Bible ? No. What is there ? Plani 
reading. What do I mean by stories ? Well, I shall 
read, and you must endeavor to see in your mind what 
it is, whether a story or plain reading. " Once there 
was a man named Elijah" — have any of you heard of. 
him before? They all lield up their hands. He con- 
tinued : the time came when Elijah's turn for leaving 
the world was come, — see in what a beautiful way the 
Bible expresses that ; and he read: "And it came to 
pass when the Lord would take Elijah into heaven by a 
whirlwind," — he made a gesture with his hands de- 
scribing a spiral ascent. 

It is impossible for me to describe how this story 
was read. Sometimes Mr. Alcott would say over, in 
modern terms, what was going to be . read, and after- 
wards read the Scripture expression ; and sometimes lie 
would read the Scripture expression first, and then 
give a parajihrase. 



60 RECORB OF A SCHOOL. 

While Mr. Alcott was engaged in the conversation, 
he was interrupted by seeing a boy who was a new 
scholar make a sign to another. He stopped, and 
said to him : Three months ago, about twenty children 
came into this school-room prepared to hear instruc- 
tion ; most were all prepared ; so they sat down and 
listened, and were instructed. A few others came at 
the same time who were not prepared to listen ; who 
did not seem to understand what they came for ; who 
were even angry and vexed at the means taken to give 
them some understanding and feeling of what they 
came for. For a time we had a great deal of trouble 
with these unprepared pupils. They are improved 
now, but are not yet quite equal to those who came 
prepai-ed in the first place. Do you understand how 
this could be? Perhaps you can understand it, and 
also this sentence from the Bible, — " To him that hath 
shall be given, but from him that hath not shall be 
taken away even that which he hath." Do you under- 
stand that? Almost all held up their hands. Yes, 
said Mr. Alcott, you can easily see that all those who 
had attention and faith have received knowledge and 
much improvement; but these benefits could not be 
given to those who did not have attention and fliith to 
begin with. Do you understand that? I do not. Sir, 
said one of the little boys. Suppose you should go to 
your mother when she was speaking to you, said Mr. 
Alcott, and stop your ears, and say. What, what? 
would you ever find out what she was saying? No. 
Well, some boys came here with their fingers in their 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 61 

ears, and how could we make them hear? They all 
laughed. They came with their eyes closed ; I mean 
the eyes of the — " Mind ! " they all exclaimed, inter- 
rupting him. I wonder how many have their eyes 
open now, said Mr. Alcott, looking round. They all 
held up their hands, and he said. Just so many have 
their eyes and ears open as have faith in their instruc- 
tors. Have you any faith in your mother, little boy ? 
The child hesitated, and seemed not to understand. 
Do you believe she loves you ? Yes, said he. Do you 
think she likes to have you happy ? Yes. Do you think 
she is sorry to have you unhappy ? Yes. Do you go 
to her when you are in trouble, and expect she will 
make you glad ? Yes. Do you go to her when you 
are glad, and expect she will be glad too ? Yes. Do 
you think she is kind to you ? Yes. Do you think 
she is kind when she punishes you ? say, all of you, — 
do you think your mothers are kind to you when they 
punish you ? They all held up their hands. But are 
you sure you feel that they are kind when they punish 
you, — when they give you pain ? It may be pain of 
the mind or pain of the body. Sometimes it is neces- 
sary to give pain to the body in order to get at the 
mind. Is it not better to hurt the body than to let the 
mind go neglected ? They all said. Yes. And I hope, 
then, that when I shall give pain, whether to your mind 
or body, you will not lose your faith in me, and think I 
do not love your mind and body, for I love them both, 
but the mind most, for it is of more worth ; and so I 
would sometimes hurt the body, rather than not reach 



62 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

the iniiul, ^^■lK'n it is necessary to reach the mind and 
put thoughts into it. 

During this conversation, the new schohar again 
pLayed ; and Mr. Alcott sent him out of the room, 
saying, if he liad been longer in this school, he wonld 
not behave so. When he had gone out, Mr. Alcott 
said, TJiat boy is not a bad boy, but he has not thought ; 
he does not know; his fingers are in his ears, his eyes 
are shut ; he needs this conversation more than any 
person else in the room, and yet he has not enough to 
liave that given him which he most needs. I have sent 
him out in order that he may get by thought that 
which is necessary to enable him to receive what he 
needs. One opportunity of learning it has been neces- 
sary to take away from him. 

He went on reading the story of Elijah's sweetening 
the springs of water. He showed that this might teach 
us how to begin to change a character ; you must change 
its sources. And he said that was the way he began to 
educate this school. He did not begin by teaching 
them to read and study ; but he went to the sources ; 
he began by trying to make the feelings and way of 
thinking, right; he put salt into the spring, — not table 
salt, but the salt of instruction. They all looked pleased. 

He then read tlie story of the raising of the Shunam- 
mite's son, which led to a consideration of the con- 
tinued life of the soul, — whether in the body or out of 
the body. 

There was a great deal of conversation this morning, 
whicli I could not recoi'd, its changes were so abrupt. 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 63 

Tlie rcadiiiL;' and conversation took an liour and a half; 
and tlic children expressed great astonislnnent at find- 
ing that so much time had passed. Some said it did 
not seem half an hour. Recess came, and the boy who 
had been sent out was now kept in, losing his play. 

After the recess was over, many interesting words 
were defined and illustrated; but I must omit this. 
My hand was too tired to keep pace with it. 

At quarter of one, the journals of the scholars were 
brought up, and Mr. Alcott began to read one girl's 
journal, wliich described all she had done in school and 
at ho]n*e this last week ; — and some of her thoughts. 
It proved she had altered and improved a good deal 
since she came to school three months ago. A boy's 
journal was next read ; it was a very pleasant account, 
and contained some good resolutions of conforming to 
the rules of the school. Then a part of another jour- 
nal was read ; but Mr. Alcott found a difficulty in mak- 
ing out the writing, it was so carelessly done. This 
boy was not one who had begun to learn to write in 
this school. 

January \tli^ Moyiday. — I arrived at quarter past 
nine, and found some of the children ; but many had 
not arrived, thermometer being below zero. They took 
their journals and s})elling lessons. 

As it was so cold, jNIr. Alcott put aside the usual 
order of exercises, and arranged the children round the 
stove to read to them, saying that he had made them 
as comfortable as he could, and he wished them to for- 
get their bodies. One boy said he could not. Mr. 



64 RECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

Alcott replied, We shall see. After I have read what 
I am going to, I shall ask you what I have been reading 
about. I shall not tell you ; I shall ask you. He then 
read from Thomson's " Winter," " The Freezing Shep- 
herd," and asked, what was that about? One said, 
about a man freezing to death in a snow-storm. An- 
other said, about winter. What pictures came up in 
your minds most vividly? A very little boy said, a 
cottage of little children crying. And so the rest. Mr. 
Alcott then began to read the same story again, in a 
paraphrase, as most of the children seemed not to have 
taken clear ideas or pictures from the poet's own words. 
They all expressed, afterwards, how much better it was 
in the paraphrase. Mr. Alcott then read Thomson's 
description of coasting and skating, and talked about 
skating and sliding, and other winter sports. 

At half-past ten, I went out into the other room with 
my Latin class, because it was warmer, and returned 
after recess, — when there was a long talk about partial- 
ities in school, during which one of the boys expressed 
great dissatisfaction at the fact that there Avas one girl 
in school who was never found fxult with. No boy or 
girl suggested that there was any fault in this girl ; and 
many spontaneously expressed that they thought she 
was much better than they. This boy, however, said 
that Mr. Alcott thought she was the best person in 
school ; and asked him if he did not. Mr. Alcott replied 
that he thought she might be better than the boy who 
was asking him that question. The boy replied that 
that was not fair, and another boy joined him. Those 



JOUBNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 65 

two boys said they thought they were as good, and that 
Mr. Alcott ought to think so. The rest of the school 
laughed at this vain-glorious speech. 

I then asked the first boy who spoke if he thought 
there was no difierence in characters, and if it was pos- 
sible for any person to approve equally of all ; if it was 
not impossible to avoid feeling differently in propor- 
tion to the degrees of virtue which different characters 
exhibited. But the boy seemed so much afraid of say- 
ing something which would imply that he was not to 
be admired equally with this little girl, that he could 
not reason. He persisted to the end in thinking that 
any approbation of another scholar, beyond what was 
bestowed upon himself, was partiality. I asked him 
what he meant by the word partiality. He said it 
meant an instructor's liking one scholar better than 
another. This he thought was the meaning of the 
word ; and, moreover, that an instructor's having this 
liberty of mind was wrong, whatever was the difference 
of character in the scholars. What was most remark- 
able, in all this conversation, was this boy's evident 
want of self-knowledge, or even of the tendency tow- 
ards self-knowledge. It never seemed to come into his 
imagination that he might be less deserving than the 
little girl, whose faultlessness had exempted her from 
Mr. Alcott's fault-finding. Indeed, he rejDcatedly de- 
clared that he was quite sure he was as good as she ; 
implying all the time that all those things in himself 
which have obliged Mr. Alcott, almost every day since 
he came to school, to speak to him more or less, were 

5 



66 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

not to be considered in judging him. The only thing 
iji all this conversation which seemed 'to give this boy 
any pleasure was Mr. Alcott's declaration that perhaps 
the little gii-1 was not the best scholar in the school. 
He said that he was contented, if Mr. Alcott did not think 
she was the best scholar. One would have thought 
that tliis little girl was the vainest, most overbearing, 
proud, arrogant person, by the feeling of dislike which 
this boy expressed towards her. And yet it was the 
general opinion that there was not a more gentle, 
modest, unassuming, disinterested person in the room. 
What could be the feeling that made him desirous 
of lowering her in our good opinion? Mr. Alcott 
suggested that there might be envious feelings in his 
mind ; and ended with saying, that although, in liter- 
ary acquirements, he was superior to some of those 
younger than himself in school, in moral advancement 
he thought him behind almost every one, and especially 
in self-knowledge. 

January 5th. — When I arrived in school this morn- 
ing, the scholars were in their seats, as it was a few 
minutes after nine. They were reviewing the spelling 
lesson that was not recited yesterday, and were told to 
draw a map that was before them, if they should get 
through their studying before ten o'clock. 

At ten o'clock some change of place was made to 
make them more comfortable. One boy was still dis- 
satisfied; and Mr. Alcott proposed he should arrange it. 
But the general impression of the scholars seemed to be 
that this boy's arrangements were less just and generous 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. G7 

than IMr. Alcott's firrano;cincnts. Wlien tlie subject was 
brought u]) in tliis way, ahnost all of the scholars exhib- 
ited ;i good deal of generous feeling, and of interest that 
the smallest boys, and those whose seats had been the 
coldest, should have M^arni ones. I was glad to see that 
some who are too often selfish did on this occasion 
exhibit more generosity and thoughtfulness of others 
than usual. 

The words were spelled, and pronounced, defined, 
and illustrated. The w^ord rohe was pursued into its 
figurative meaning, and the robe of the mind was 
decided to be thoughts and feelings. The question 
was asked, how they would clothe their own minds. 
And one boy answered, Avitli an angel, which many 
more joined in. This was analyzed to mean that good 
liabits, good thoughts and feelings were the angelic 
robes. Mr. Alcott modified the original idea, by show- 
ing that the mind itself was the angel, and culture 
put on the robe ; and he said that he was helping their 
miiids to enrobe themselves with an appropriate vest- 
ure of thoughts, feelings, and habits. There was a good 
deal of allegorical conversation on this ^vord ; w^hich 
seemed to be very pleasing and instructive to the 
chihb-en. 

After recess, the first class in reading were arranged 
in a semicircle ; and all the younger scholars (part in 
Child's Arithmetic, and part in Colburn's Arithmetic), 
studied their lessons. The reading class turned to a 
piece of poetry of Mrs. Sigourney's, and Mr. Alcott 
proposed to analyze it on the blackboard, in a scale 



68 



BECORD OF A SCHOOL, 



which divided words into the names of objects, actions, 
qualities, substitutes, and relations. 

First, the word object was defined as the name of any- 
thing ; but Mr. Alcott asked the next for a better defini- 
tion. And it was decided that whatever was perceived 
by the senses, or conceived in the mind, were objects. 
Action was defined as any thing you do, or that was 
done to you. Qualities were defined as the words that 
expressed the sorts of actions or objects; substitutes 
as the words which stand for other words, — signs of 
sificns. Relations were illustrated, not defined. 

They then proceeded to analyze the verse — 

Why gaze ye on my hoary hairs, 

Ye children, young and gay % 
Your locks, beneath the blast of cares. 

Will bleach as white as they. 



OBJiiCTS. 


ACTIONS. 


QUALITIES. 


SUBSTITUTES. 


RELATIONS. 


hairs 

children 

locks 

blast 

cares 


gaze 

will bleach 


Why 
hoary 
young 

g'ly 
white 


ye 

my 

ye 

your 
they 


on 
beneath 



January Qth. — Mr. Alcott began the spelling lesson 
by asking what was the advantage of defining words. 
And then he asked what a person was like who had 
words without any ideas attached. One said a parrot ; 
one, a mocking bird ; one, an ape. He then asked what 
boys and girls thought they had been too neglectful of 
the meanings of words. Several held up thek hands. 



JOURNAL OF TliE SCHOOL. 69 

I observed that one boy, who, in my opinion, is particu- 
larly deficient in appreciating the force and power of 
words, did not hold up his hand, but sat with a very 
self-satisfied air. One boy, who did not hold up his 
hand, was very right in not doing so ; for he has a very 
admirable appreciation of words, for his age. 

The word reel led to a recollection of what is often 
seen in the street, and the shaping it out in words, till 
there was a very sad picture on the mind. Other words 
were then defined, which led to the conception of some 
other pictures. Mr. Alcott considers that this is a very 
important way of illustrating words, when the words 
will allow of it ; and almost every word does. 

The word rest was talked of in all its meanings, as 
repose, leaning upon, remaining. I suggested that re- 
store might be the origin of the word ; and as restore 
came from the Latin word resto, to stand again, the 
word rest^ when applied to the mind, might mean to get 
back to that repose of innocence in which it was when 
first created ; when applied to the body, getting back 
to that unagitated state which is the natural state of 
matter. 

The word same seemed confounded, in most of their 
minds, with the word similar. One, however, said the 
very thing was the same thing; which was as near, 
perhaps, as it was possible for such inexperienced minds 
to get to the expression of identity. 

When these words and a few others were defined, 
the whole lesson was spelled, and I was asked to read 
my Journal ; but first Mr. Alcott asked if any one of 



70 BECOHn OF A SCHOOL. 

tliem thouglit he knew himself. One boy held up his 
hand; none of the rest did. Mr. Alcott remarked to 
this boy, that he thought he knew very little of him- 
self; and then he took down Krummacher, and read — • 

KNOW THYSELF. 

Strcphon, a Grecian youth of distinction, said one 
day to his preceptor : I shoukl like to go to Delphi, to 
consult the oracle respecting my future destiny. I 
should then, I think, be able to regulate my life much 
better, and to choose with gi-eater certainty the path 
of'wisdom. If such be thy notion, replied the precep- 
tor, I will accompany thee. 

They proceeded on their way, and arrived at Delphi. 
With a peculiar feeling of awe, the youth traversed the 
ground that surrounded the sanctuary. They reached 
the temple, and seated themselves opposite to it. 
Strephon observed the inscription over the entrance: 
" Kn^ow thyself." What mean these words ? said he 
to his precejotor. 

They are easily explained, replied the latter. Con- 
sider who thou art, and for what purpose thou hast 
received life. A man should first learn to know him- 
self, before he can fathom. the counsels of the Deity. 

Who am I then ? said the youth. Thou art Strej^hon, 
replied his preceptor, the son of the virtuous Agathon. 
Behold, that essence which thinks within thee, and 
which is about to learn its fate from the lips of the 
priest, — that essence is thyself Tliat invisible spirit 
is destined to govern thine actions, and to mold thy 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 71 

whole life into one liannonious whole. Thus wilt thou 
become like the Deity, and contented with thyself; for 
the man in whom the spirit predominates may be 
compared to a well-tuned lyre, which produces only 
melodious tones. But he who is governed by sensual 
passions and desu'es is a slave, p.nd base lusts lead him 
at pleasure into ungodly ways. Whoever, then, is thor- 
oughly sensible of his destination, and examines how 
far he has advanced towards the goal or deviated from / 
it, — such an one truly knows himself. "~^ 

The youth made no reply. The preceptor then said, 
Well ! let us now enter the sacred fane. But Strephon 
replied : No, my dear master, the inscription is enough 
for me ; I am ashamed of my foolish Avish, and have too 
much to do with myself and with the present to concern 
myself about the future. 

Repent not thy journey, said the preceptor ; thou hast 
attained thine aim, and heard the voice of the god. 
Thou art on the road to wisdom ; I am assured of this 
by thy humility, — the first fruit of self-knowledge. 

After recess, the usual lessons were attended to. 

January 1th. — Still very cold, yet all but three were 
present and seated at their lessons by half-past nine. 
At quarter of ten, Mr. Alcott arranged the children 
round the stove in a square. When the best arrange- 
ment had been made, one boy objected, and said he was 
cold. Mr. Alcott told him to go into the little room 
where there was a fire. Mr. Alcott then began to have 
some conversation with them on the subject of making 



72 RECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

a great noise here before he came in the morning. (It 
is very uncommon for Mr. Alcott not to be here before 
all the scholars.) He told them he once knew of a 
school of eighty scholars, between the ages of four and 
sixteen, which went on in perfect order for three days, 
although the teacher was absent, and he said all the 
lessons were learned as usual. Mr. Alcott then took 
Krummacher's Fables, and read the story of Lazarus 
licked by the dogs, and Zadoc's mercy. When he 
beo^an, he said he was ffoingj to kindle a fire for the 
mind, which he hoped w^ould make them forget their 
bodies. They listened most intensely to the story; 
and, when he had finished, he said, How do you like 
my fire ? They all burst out, I like it ! Shall I kindle 
another? said he. And he read the story of Emily, 
who did not like winter, because she loved her flower 
garden. As he described the opening out of Emily's 
bulb into the flower, he made a running commentary 
of allegory, reminding them that they were germs. 
They took uj? this allegory with great delight. One 
boy said he thought the germs had already begun to 
open. When he had finished this beautiful story, he 
said. How do you like that fire ? I think it a very warm 
one, said several at once. They then asked him for 
another fire. And he read the story of Caroline and 
the canary-bird. They all expressed their astonishment 
when he said it was eleven o'clock, and agreed with him 
that the fires of the mind were warmer than any other. 
They then spelled the lesson. 

Recess-time had now come, and Mr. Alcott said, It 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 73 

has been very cold indeed, and uncomfortable, but has 
been an interesting day, has it not ? They all agreed, 
by acclamation. 

During the recess, Mr. Alcott prepared the slates and 
his own blackboard with the grammatical scale for the 
scholars under eight years of age. 

After they had been seated a few minutes, as there 
was some buzzing, Mr. Alcott asked all those who had 
whispered or spoken since they came in to rise uj). 
Almost all did. He told them to go out, and come in 
again, and do as they ought. And they went out, and 
some of them came immediately back ; others not com- 
ing immediately, Mr. Alcott went out and sent them in. 
When they were seated, he told those who had come 
in last to go out and come immediately back. When 
it was all over, Mr. Alcott said ten minutes had been 
lost. 

January 9th. — The scholars were at their spelling 
lessons and journals this morning, when I arrived. At 
quarter of ten, Mr. Alcott took the little class of four 
children, under four years of age, and began to read 
Frank. He began the first sentence: "There was a 
little boy whose name was Frank." What was his 
name ? Frank, said they. " He loved his fither and 
mother." Do you ? Yes. " He liked to be with them." 
Do you? Yes. 

He went on in this manner, and read the two first 
sentences, which brought them to the fact that Frank 
was obedient. He here stopped and asked them ques- 
tions about being obedient, and told them how Anna 



74 BE COED OF A SCHOOL. 

Alcott (who wafe one of them) made out the night before 
to get up a resolution to obey when she did not want 
to. He asked questions, and described the whole pro- 
cess of mind. He personified Resolution ; and then he 
said, Well, now, you must say to Resolution, Resolu- 
tion ! keep me sitting still in this chair while Mr. Alcott 
is reading. He then read the story about the leaf of 
the table falling, and they looked very attentive and 
much delighted. 

In reading to little children, Mr. Alcott conveys a 
vast deal of good. In the first place, he requires from 
them a distinct effort of self-control, by asking them tlie 
question, whether they will make a great effort ; then 
he imagines and shows them how they will be tempted, 
and prepares them both for the temptation, and to over- 
come it. Without inviting this co-operation, he cannot 
be sure, that however interesting is his reading, any 
fixed attention will be given. With it, the listening 
becomes a moral exercise ; for to govern one's self from 
the motive of desiring to obey and deserve instruction, 
is a moral action. Mr. Alcott, however, tries to aid 
their endeavors, by selecting an interesting story ; and 
as he reads, he constantly asks questions to make them 
co-operate with him, in the manner mentioned above. 
The result is active and profound attention. 

These children spend their forenoons at the black- 
board in drawing letters, of which they have a profusion 
at their desks, and looking at pictures. Mr. Alcott now 
and then goes and talks with them concerning these. 
They are required to be very quiet, and not interrupt 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 75 

the rest of the school ; and they succeed by means of 
these quiet amusements. In the mean wliile they are 
very much edified, apparently, by the discipline of the 
school, which constantly conveys to them the theory of 
quietness and self-control. They also have slates and 
pencils to copy the forms of the letters. 

While Mr. Alcott reads to them, he sits with his back 
to the rest of the school ; but the room echoes, so that 
a whisper can be heard. When the lesson is over, he 
turns and asks. Who whispered ? and they stand up, 
and there is conversation and sometimes correction. 
This plan has many advantages, the chief of which is 
the habit of ingenuousness it ensures. 

At ten o'clock the smaller division of the class spelled 
their words ; and Mr. Alcott told them the meanings 
of such words as they did not know, which took a 
quarter of an hour. Then the rest of the class turned 
round to attend to their spelling. They had an hour 
and a quarter for their spelling and journals ; and most 
of them had had some time to copy words from the 
copperplate cards before them. Mr. Alcott said, before 
he began, that he trusted the school, with its thirty 
voices, had made a resolution not to interrupt him with 
unnecessary w^ords, Avith imj^roper attitudes, or with 
laughing. Mr. Alcott then asked if all of them were 
willing to be punished if they broke that resolution. 
After some hesitation on the part of a few, they all 
agreed. One little boy persisted in saying, I cannot 
tell. Mr. Alcott asked him how he was to find out ; 
and to all his questions he answered, I don't know. As 



76 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

I had the " Faerie Queene " on my table, I carried to 
Mr. Alcott the passage of the Legend of St. George 
which describes Ignaro ; and Mr. Alcott read it, to the 
great delight of all, and asked the little boy afterwards, 
if now he could tell. The little boy replied with a 
smile. Yes, sometiines. Mr. Alcott then turned round 
to the rest and said, Ignorance, with keys which he 
could not use, is that you ? But, if you will come here, 
I will show you how to use your keys, some of them. 
I do not know how to use them all myself; but I know 
how to use some, and I do not intend to let any of 
them rust as Ignaro's did. 

One boy in school (who is a lately entered scholar) 
asked if that story was true. Mr. Alcott said, There 
are two sorts of truth, — the truth of what is in the 
mind, and the truth of what is out of the mind. Bat 
there are some boys who do not understand that there 
are realities in the mind ; and, when I shape out the 
realities of the mind by means of outward things that 
represent them, these boys think it is not true. They 
cannot believe any truth but the outward truth. Now 
the inward truth is the first truth ; there would never 
have been a single outward thing, not a thing in the 
world, no world at all, if God had not had thoughts in 
his mind first. The world existed as a thought in God's 
mind before a single particle of it existed in such a way 
as to be seen or heard or felt. He then addressed one 
boy eight years old : Tell me, when you do any thing 
outside of you, any thing which others see you do, does 
it not exist first within your mind ? do you not feel it 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 77 

first really existing within your mind? Yes. Well, 
can any of you tell nie of a single thing that you see 
with your eyes, that did not first exist really within 
some spirit? One boy said, Did that bust of Shak- 
speare exist really in a mind, before it existed out of a 
mind ? He was soon convinced that the fonn of it did 
exist in the mind of the molder. 

In the subsequent spelling lesson, when the word tale 
came up, it ehcited a good deal of conversation. It 
was seen that a tale, a lable, &c., might be the medium 
of conveying truth. Mr. Alcott went on to show that 
the things that we see tell us a tale all the time. And 
he asked what the woiid was a tale of? After a mo- 
ment's reflection, several of the children said, of God. 
Then he asked what the things that happen in the out- 
ward world were tales of. It was answered that there 
was not a thing that happened that had not existed in 
some mind, — either in God's mind or in some man's 
mind. He then said. The world is a tale, and life is a 
tale. 

I here asked permission to tell the first tale that I 
remembered Life to have told me. I began with saying 
that one reason why I told them this was to show how 
a story sometimes changed its outward form when it 
went into a mind, and yet carried all the most important 
truth into the mind. This story, said I, had an outward 
truth ; it was something which happened in the outward 
world, and was told to me as it happened ; and this was 
the picture that came into my mind. V ' 

I thought I saw a dark sea, and a cloudy, stormy^sky, 



78 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

which looked gloomy. And I saw a ship on the hori- 
zon, which came on very fast, faster and smoother than 
any other ship ever sailed, in a beautiful curved line. 
As it came near, there was a company of women stand- 
ing on the deck, two and two, taking hold of hands ; 
and each one had white robes on, Avhich fell over her 
feet ; and every eye was looking up, as if she saw God 
sitting above the clouds ; and their faces were full of 
joy and love. At last the vessel stopped near a large 
rock on the shore. I did not see a single sailor, or 
any anchor, — I never had heard of an anchor ; but it 
seemed to me these women walked off the deck upon 
the rock, and walked over the rock carefully, looking at 
their feet, and holding up then- robes ; and they glided 
over the frozen snow into a high, dark, deep, evergreen 
forest ; and under the trees they knelt down and wor- 
shipped God, though there were no meeting-houses, 
and not a single dwelling-house ; and then they went 
into the bushes, and took broken pieces of trees, and 
made little huts, like Indian wigwams, which they went 
into. This was the jjicture that rose up in my mind as 

I was told 

The story of the Pilgrim Fathers ! exclaimed several, 
interrupting me ; but what made you think the Pilgrims 
were women ? said one. It was the misunderstanding 
of a single word, said I ; and the reason I thought they 
were in white robes was because so much was said of 
their purity ; and the reason I thought they were look- 
ing up was because I was told that they came to the 
uncultivated desert to have liberty to worship God; 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 79 

and the reason I thought they looked happy was be- 
cause I was tokl that they loved God, and I knew God 
was good; and the reason that the whole thing seemed 
done so quickly was because I did not know about sail- 
ors, and managing a ship, and anchors, and such things. 
But now tell me, do you think I gained most truth or 
falsehood from that picture ? The boy to whom I asked 
the question, answered that I gained more truth than 
falsehood. Yes, said I, the truth of the mind. Had I 
seen the thing as it really was outwardly (the Pilgrim 
Fathers in seamen's clothes, and looking just like any 
other men), I should not have taken the idea of how 
different their minds were from those of common people; 
for I could not have seen their thoughts. But my imag- 
ination shaped out their thoughts in such a way that I 
could see their very thoughts ; and so the very mistakes 
which I made helped me to see more of the truth than 
I should liave seen, had my real eyes been there, look- 
ing at their real bodies. It was of great use to my 
character to have this picture of true devotion, of souls 
so full of goodness as not to mind cold, nor the having 
no homes ; and caring so much about worshipping in 
the way they thought was right, that they were willing 
to live in that wilderness. Especially since I thought 
they were women ! 

Mr. Alcott said, And now see the advantage of hav- 
ing an imagination which is always ready to give the 
most beautiful shapes to words. It makes a great deal 
of difference in your characters, whether there are beau- 
tiful shapes in your minds or not; and, in using words, 



80 BECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

you should take great care to use such as may put 
shapes into the mmds of others, which will mold them 
right. Suppose a man says to a child, You brat you, 
get out of my sight ! What an ugly picture the words 
make in that child's mind of himself! So that he can 
hardly feel that he has a spirit within him. Well, it is 
not true that he has a spirit within him, said one boy. 
Not true ! said Mr. Alcott ; indeed it is true ; and until 
you feel that you have a spirit within you, and must 
act according to it, you will never be free from those 
thoughts and feelings and actions that trouble you and 
us so much every day. If -I did not think there was 
something within you much more angelic than has yet 
appeared, I should feel very despairing. If I thought 
of you as you think of yourself, I should be as discour- 
aged as you are. You think you are good enough ; but 
I believe you can be a great deal better. 

I thought an angel was a man with wings, said one 
boy. What do the wings mean? do they mean the 
feelings that go upward? All men have such wings. 
Men are not angels, said another boy. I pointed to a 
picture that hung in the room, and asked if he thought 
much of what that person thought. He said. Yes. 
Well, said I, I heard him say once that unless we could 
believe in the angels that were around us in shapes of 
men, it would do us no good at all to believe there were 
angels in another world. He seemed to be quite struck 
with the force of this person's authority. Mr. Alcott 
then took Krummacher's Fables, and read, by way of 
illustrating the subject, — 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 81 



ADAM AND THE SERAPH. 

One evening Adam was reposing on a hill under a 
tree in the garden of Eden ; and his face was turned 
upward, and his eyes were fixed on heaven. A seraph 
drew nigh unto him, and said. Why lookest thou up so 
wistfully towards heaven ? What aileth thee, Adam ? 
What should ail me, answered the father of men, in 
this abode of happiness? My eye was observing the 
stars which glisten yonder, and I wished for the wings 
of the eagle, that I might fly up to them, and obtain a 
near view of their brilliant orbs. 

Thou hast such wings, replied the seraph; and he 
touched Adam, and Adam sank into a deep sleep and 
dreamt ; and it seemed to him in his dream that he was 
flying up to heaven. 

When he afterwards awoke, he looked around him, 
and was amazed because he was lying under the tree 
on the hill. But the seraph stood before him, and said, 
Wherefore musest thou, Adam ? Adam answered and 
said. Behold, I was up yonder in the firmament of 
heaven, and walked among the stars, and flew around 
Orion and the Pleiades ; brilliant orbs, vast and glorious 
as the sun, whirled past me, — the milky way, which 
thou seest yonder, is an expanse full of bright spheres, 
and above this expanse is another, and again another. 
And in these shining worlds dwell beings like unto 
myself; and they pray to the Lord, and praise his 
name : seraph, didst thou conduct me ? 

This tree, answered the seraph, hath overshadowed 
6 



82 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

thee, and thy body hath not quitted this hill. But 
behold, Adam, within thee dwelleth a seraph, that hath 
the faculty to traverse the boundless regions of space, 
in which innumerable spheres revolve, and the higher 
he ascends the more profound is his adoration of Jeho- 
vah. Guard this seraph, Adam, with care and vigilance, 
that the passions may not obstruct his flight and fetter 
him to the earth. The seraph spake, and disappeared. 

Mr. Alcott asked them if they understood what he 
intended to teach them by reading this. They replied, 
Yes. 

After recess, I took my Latin class into the other 
room, and they all had their slates given to them, and 
began to analyze sentences into the parts of speech, 
and into the variations of cases. In the mean time, 
those who were with Mr. Alcott had read in Frank ; 
and he had asked the children what pictures certain 
words brought up to their minds, and had had several 
interesting answers. One boy of six said Try shaped 
itself as a strong man. And another of five gave quite 
an elaborate picture of Day. He said he thought of 
an angel sitting on the floor of heaven, which was our 
sky, and letting down, through an oj^ening, a cross, in 
which was the sun. When he lets down the cross, it is 
day, and, when he draws it up, it is night. He made 
appropriate gestures as he described this. Where did 
you get that picture? It came into my mind all of 
itself. When? Why, now. Did you ever think of 
that picture before to-day? No. In regard to some 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 83 

other particulars which were asked in order to ascertain 
if it was distinct and steady before liis mind, he answered 
without hesitation. 

Another question which Mr. Alcott asked of the 
little boys was, how they employed rainy days. They 
gave various answers ; and this boy said that he sat 
down and thought over the stories he had heard, and 
acted them over in his mind, and sometimes made up 
new ones, — oh, very beautiful! with angels in them. 
This little boy afterwards added an angel of the moon, 
who sat by the side of the angel of the sun, and, when 
the sun was drawn up, put down the moon in the same 
way. This angel also put down the stars, but not in 
crosses. He hung them down. But in the morning, 
when the cross of the sun is jDut down, these stars shoot 
back into heaven, said he, like balloons. 

January \^th. — There was some mistake about the 
fire ; and, as the room was very cold, Mr. Alcott took 
all the children into the anteroom, there to spell and 
define the lesson, without having previously studied it. 
They remained with him till half past eleven, convers- 
ing upon the interesting subject. Conscience. The 
question arose, whether it was seated in the head or 
heart; and it was remarkable that those boys whose 
conscience is to them the surest guide, and the most 
powerful, all thought it was in their heart, while those 
who are not so conscientious thought it was in their 
head. 

In the grammatical analysis to-day, there was some 
conversation about the word object^ and it was found by 



84' RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

its etymology to mean wliat lies out of or before the 
mind. What mind laid things out of itself, — laid out 
before it every thing ? God, said a boy of seven. Did 
he put any thing into things by which they might get 
up? Yes, in some things he put spirit, his own spirit. 
And so all things that have spirit within them get up 
and act as much as they can ? No, said he, laughing ; 
some are sluggards. What are you in earnest about ? 
said Mr. Alcott to the little boy of five, mentioned 
yesterday. Not about any thing. What is being 
earnest ? Feeling that things must be done. And you 
do not feel so about any thing? Only about being 
good. O Mr. Alcott! I have thought of an angel of 
rain. Well, how does he look ? He sits by the angels 
of the sun and moon. Do they help him ? No. How 
does he know when to have it rain ? Oh ! he can see ; 
he knows when it is dry down here ; and he went on to 
describe his operations, but I could only understand 
that the angel took the water in a great bubble fi-om 
the sea, and went up in it, and came down with the 
rain. 

January Vlth. — I arrived at a few minutes after 
nine, and found the children at their lessons. At a 
quarter of ten, Mr. Alcott took his youngest class, and 
began with telling over what he had read about in 
Frank the last time. Mr. Alcott asked them if they 
minded as Frank did. One held up his hand. Mr. 
Alcott said. You mind sometimes ; well, that is better 
than not at all ! But do you mind when you don't want 
to? No. Ah! but Frank did; because he thought, 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 85 

and he knew that his mother's wants were better than 
his own. He then went on, and read in another place 
about Frank's going over the stile, &c.; and after he 
had done, he said. Well, now you have heard about 
meddling; the other day you heard about minding. 
Do you meddle ? 

At ten o'clock, he took the youngest division of the 
spelling class, as usual, and heard them spell, and told 
them the meanings of the words. This lasted a quarter 
of an hour, when the rest of the class turned. At first 
Mr. Alcott spelled the words, and called on the scholars 
to pronounce them. Then he gave the definitions, and 
required them to tell the words ; then he called for an 
illustration of each word, in original or quoted sen- 
tences, in which the word was used. As usual, this 
led to a great deal of conversation ; for the figurative 
uses of the words being brought in among the illustra- 
tions, Mr. Alcott always pursues the spiritual subjects 
thus introduced, thinking it the most natural way of 
interesting their minds in mental operations. Thus the 
word s^eep being illustrated by the expression, "steeped 
in wisdom," led to a consideration of the source of 
msdom being an inexhaustible fountain. One boy said, 
with great simplicity, that he was not yet wet through 
with wisdom. 

The word spot led to unspotted, — unspotted in 
character, — Jesus Christ, — the original innocence of 
character in childhood, — how they had become spotted 
(by disobeying conscience, not obeying parents who 
interpret conscience, by gettmg into passions, loving 



86 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

appetite too well, &c.). These disquisitions are always 
conversations; the) references to Jesns Christ are al- 
ways by describing his character ; tliey respond saying, 
I know who you mean, and joointing to the cast of 
Christ. There is a strong expression of reverence, 
and natural sensibility to excellence, whenever he is 
referred to. 

One of the words led to a discrimination between 
the words character and reimtation^ and then to a dis- 
crimination between the character and nature of a 
person. In the course of the conversation, the question 
arose, whether Mr. Alcott understood their characters. 
Some of the boys said they thought he did; others 
thought he did not. This led to a consideration of the 
evil of secretiveness, and the beauty and advantage of 
transparency. Secretiveness, Mr. Alcott thought, was 
naturally connected with selfishness, and frankness with 
generosity. 

Mr. Alcott asked if all deserved to go out at recess, 
wdien there had been so much noise. One boy said he 
thought the good ought not to suiFer for the bad. Mr. 
Alcott replied that in God's world the good oftentimes 
suffered for the bad ; and that it w^as a proof of a 
person's being good, that he was willing to suffer for 
the bad. The boy replied that he was very wicked, 
then, for he was not willing to suffer for the bad. 

January \^th. — Mr. Alcott read to his youngest 
class, from Northcote, a story about a dog, which I 
Avish I could describe, with his conversation inter- 
mingled, but I cannot. 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 8T 

At ten lie took tlie youngest division of the class, 
as usual. When the rest of the class turned, Mr. 
Alcott said, What is a definition ? One girl replied. It 
is the meaning of a word. What is the meaning of 
a word? The explanation, said another girl. The 
thought told in other words, said one of the boys. 
The definition of a word is to tell all its meanings, said 
another. The meaning of a word, said Mr. Alcott, and 
the definition are not the same. As you have a soul 
within your body, and your body means out, as it were, 
the soul, so the word has a soul. What do you think 
of such an idea as the soul of a word ? Can you take 
that idea, — the spirit of a word? Yes, sir, said one 
little girl, very intelligently. 

Now, said Mr. Alcott, let us see if we can find the 
spirits of these words ; if we can open the words, and 
bring out the thoughts and feelings. You have seen 
a very little seed, a mustard-seed; the meaning of that 
seed is not seen, till it has opened out into the branches, 
and leaves, and fruits. 

The first illustration of the word soar was the figura- 
tive one. " Our minds soar when they think on some 
subjects." He asked if there were any who were 
conscious that their minds and hearts were beginning 
to soar. One boy held up his hand. Two other boys 
expressed a wish that they had the eyes and wings of 
the eagle. Mr. Alcott said. You have stronger wings 
than the eagle, and eyes to see a brighter sun than he 
has ever seen. Mr. Alcott then went very carefully 
over the process of an egg's being nursed into life; the 



88 RECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

warmth of the parent bird operating upon the matter 
around the germ of life, and making it so phable that 
the germ of life, which is spirit, shapes out a form that 
will mean something to the observing mind. He then 
went over the process of a bird's learning to fly, through 
the encouraging love and care of the parents, animating 
the spirit of life, and leading it out. He then asked 
some questions about their minds soaring out of their 
bodies ; and some interesting answers were given. He 
then brought forward a cast of a child, whose arms 
were stretched upwards; and asked each one of them 
what idea this image awakened in his mind. One boy 
said, of a boy stretching. But almost all the boys 
expressed the spiritual idea of asj^iration. One boy 
said it was an angel (yet there were no wings). One 
girl said it was a soul, shaped out as a child, ascending 
to a higher state. One boy said it seemed to be a child 
looking up to heaven, and praying to God to send an 
angel down to take it up to heaven ; and that it was 
preparing to be received there. 

One very intelligent boy, the shape of whose head 
seems to indicate the possession of the imaginative 
faculties, and who has expressed strongly the desire of 
pursuing the fine arts, said he took no idea. Mr. Alcott 
replied that he did not do justice to himself in saying 
that. But I said I thought that he would not take 
pains to clothe his thoughts and feelings in words ; or 
that perhaps he was proud, and did not wish to attempt 
it, lest he should fiil. And yet there was no way for 
him ever to learn how to express himself, except by 



JOURNAL OF TEE SCEOOL. 89 

attempting it, and being helped out. I wished lie 
would do this, for I felt sure it would bring him a great 
deal of satisfaction ; and, wlien he had once got over the 
difficulty, he would not sit, his soul sending the blood 
out of his heart into his head, and driving it back again 
into his heart, while he feels overwhelmed with feelings 
that he does not know how to define. I told him he 
reminded me of a child that I once knew, who carried 
this fault of pride so far that he has become a very- 
unhappy man. 

Mr. Alcott asked which was most interesting, such 
conversation as this, or conversation about steam- 
engines or such things. Many said, such conversation 
as this, but some did not reply. Mr. Alcott put the 
qnestion in' another form ; and at last a little boy ex- 
claimed, I never knew I had a mind till I came to 
this school ; and a great many more burst out with the 
same idea. I asked a very little boy, who I think has 
improved in his intellect more perhaps than any other 
child in this school, if he knew that he had a mind 
before he came to this school. He said. Yes. I then 
asked him if he ever thought before. He said. Yes. 
If he ever thought about his thoughts. He said, with a 
bright smile, No ! If he liked to think about his thoughts. 
He said, Yes. If he liked it better than to think about 
any thing else. He said. Yes. If it entertained him. He 
said, Yes, yes, yes. Mr. Alcott then asked all those who 
liked to think about their thoughts better than ^bout 
how things were made and done to hold up their hands ; 
and almost every scholar held up his hand for thoughts. 



90 ■ RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

One boy then said he liked things which represented 
thoughts. Mr. Alcott said, Yes, that is beautiful ; that 
is a way of studying things which is most interesting. 
But of course no one can think about things as repre- 
senting thoughts, until they have first thought about 
thoughts in themselves. This boy then said he wanted 
to ask if the mind did not mean that part of us which 
took in learning, as astronomy, &c., and the soul that 
part of us which takes in the thoughts of God and 
duty : Is there not this difierence, said he, for I never 
knew certainly ? Mr. Alcott agreed that there was this 
difference, and told him the word spirit included both, 
and the voice of the spirit was conscience ; for both the 
mind and soul were .necessary to inform conscience, and 
make it express itself perfectly and wisely. Mr. Alcott 
said that some people seemed to be mostly mind, and 
some mostly soul ; but the union of the two in proper 
proportion constituted the life of the spirit, and made 
it utter its voice in conscience. 

I then told the history of the mind I referred to 
above, and how without vanity, but through pridie, he 
kept himself back ; how the fear of revealing his wants, 
even when he intensely felt them, deprived him of all 
assistance; how he never attempted to do any thing 
until he was able to do it perfectly ; how, at last, he 
seldom attempted to do any thing at all, because he 
knew he could not do it perfectly; and how it had 
all resulted in his powers of action being so very 
much behind his conceptions of what might and could 
be done that he did not have any sense of success, 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 91 

became gloomy, and was going on in doing things 
inferior to his own capacity, without the means of com- 
municating his mind to those in whom alone he felt 
interest. I ended with saying, There are some j^ersons 
here who have in a degree the jDride and the habit 
of that person ; and I would warn such of the con- 
sequences. 

As I told this in a very detailed manner, it excited 
great attention and interest ; and several acknowledged 
that they felt they had a degree of the same spirit. 
The individual I particularly thought of was particu- 
larly conscious ; and I had a long conversation with 
him, in recess, upon the duty of overcoming this pride, 
and not fighting against his own mind. I stimulated 
him by giving him instances of persons very superior 
in the power of expression, and endeavored to show 
him that they never would have been ab.le to sway the 
minds of others with the thoughts in their minds, 
unless they had done differently from the way he was 
doing ; for he was repressing his mind, by putting down 
his thoughts into the measure of such words as he 
already possessed, instead of allowing his thoughts and 
feelings to go forth after expression, as certain other 
boys did whom I named, who were every day improv- 
ing. He asked what he could do. I said, Endeavor to 
answer every question Mr. Alcott puts out, instead of 
using your mind, as you do now, to evade answering 
the questions at all ; for this will certainly cramp and 
in the end destroy it. He seemed to understand this 
argument, and disj^osed to follow this advice. 



92 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

After recess, Mr. Alcott took " Pilgrim's Progress," 
and read the first description of Christian very slowly, 
and all his distress, and the want of synij^athy of those 
around him, through the interview with the Evangelist, 
and the Slough of Despond, up to the place where the 
Interpreter shows Christian the picture. He exj^lained 
as he read, applying it to the sj^iritual condition of 
individuals in the school ; and in some instances we 
had quite a general conversation. When he came to 
the description of the first picture in the Interpreter's 
house, he stopped, and asked, why were the eyes look- 
ing upward ? One girl said, because he was endeavor- 
ing to get to heaven. Another said, because he was 
tired of earthly things. A boy said that the eyes 
looked upward because he loved God, and was thinking 
about him. Another boy said, because he had a dis- 
position to go to heaven. Some said they had no 
thoughts. Mr. Alcott asked one if he thought that 
Mr. Alcott wished his body to be here without his 
mind, i. e. without any thoughts. The boy blushed. 
Mr. Alcott asked, why was it said that "truth was 
written on his lips"? Many answered, because he 
looked as if he spoke the truth. They all spoke as if 
they understood truth as merely veracity. He asked 
why the world was behind his back. One boy said, 
because he preferred heaven to earth. Others confined 
their notion to that of his being tired of the world. 
Why was the crown suspended over his head ? One 
girl said, to show that he would be rewarded for being 
good. Another girl said, for his perseverance. A boy 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 93 

said, for loving heaven better than earth. What is this 
way of representing truth called ? Allegory. I have 
been reading an allegory, which pictures out truth by 
— what? As they could not get the word, he said 
emblems, and that they had been interpreting the em- 
blems. Mr. Alcott then went on and read all the things 
which the Interpreter showed to Christian. 

Something was said about our most imaginative boy, 
who was not present to-day. The scholars delight in 
hearing his ideas generally ; but one who is some years 
older, and very fond of admiration, has expressed some 
feelings of jealousy. It was remarked that there was 
nothing extraordinary in itself in any thing this boy 
said ; that all children have such ideas in their souls, 
and more beautiful ones too ; and that all the difference 
in the shaping power arises from the habit of looking 
into himself which this boy has, and some children have 
not. It is only wonderful in itself that you do not all 
give us as b(jautiful thoughts as he does ; and it can 
only be accounted for by remembering that parents 
and school-teachers have not done what they might 
have done to keep you from giving yourselves up to 
bodily pleasures and eye enjoyments, without taking 
the trouble to think, all the while. Play is an excellent 
opportunity for exercising your imaginations. But you 
often push one another about, instead of playing some- 
thing with a plan. I have known children play long 
stories, making believe a thousand things; making 
believe is using your imagination. But you should 
never make believe bad things. And I knew a boy 



94 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

who made himself hard-hearted, by always playing 
Indian wars. But I have known some children cul- 
tivate their minds and hearts, without knowing it 
themselves, by their beautiful plays. Some anecdotes 
were added. 

January l^th. — I arrived at few minutes after nine, 
and found the children at their lessons. Mr. Alcott 
read to his little class the story of Frank's going into 
the garden. He read as far as Avhy people could not 
take whatever they wanted ; and then there was a 
good deal of conversation with them on meddling, and 
on not spoiling other people's things. 

At nearly ten, Mr. Alcott took the smallest division 
of his spelling class, and began with asking one boy, if, 
when he talked with his father or mother, he ever used 
any of the words he found in his spelling lessons. He 
said, Yes. The two next boys said they never used 
these words. Mr. Alcott said. Suppose I should put a 
box at your seat with six words in it, which were names 
of your thoughts, and dilFerent names from any you had 
ever heard of, and you opened your box and said. Well, 
I do not know what thoughts these words are names 
of, but Mr. Alcott will tell us ; and so Mr. Alcott comes 
and tells you, and you go home and talk out your 
thoughts with these new words ; you would learn six 
new words every day. Well, let us look into your 
sj)elling lesson, and see if we can find some new names 
to your thoughts. When he had told them the mean- 
ings of the words, he illustrated them by sentences in 
which they were used figuratively. 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 95 

During this lesson, he spoke to two girls for whisper- 
ing; and he remarked that this was the first whisper 
he had heard since school began, the first time he had 
had to speak to any scholar for any thing. The little 
girls looked quite ashamed. 

At ten minutes past ten, Mr. Alcott asked the rest to 
turn in their seats, and expressed his approbation of 
their stillness, w hich he thought had been remarkable. 
He then placed two boys, who were apt to be fidgety, 
at a distance from the rest, and proceeded to the les- 
son, saying. This exercise, which we call spelling and 
defining, leads to a great deal ; it not only teaches 
to spell the words, but to see how thoughts and 
feelings are expressed by words; it gives names to 
thoughts and feelings. Now, tell me, what advan- 
tages does this lesson lead to? One of the boys 
repeated his remark, and added. We learn the pro- 
nunciation of words also. Another here began to say 
that he thought he knew the meaning of words before 
he came to this school ; and he seemed to think that 
he knew so much of words before, he w^as not very 
much benefited by this exercise, since only a few words 
were defined each day, and the illustrations took so 
long a time. 

After satisfying this boy of his error, Mr. Alcott 
continued his remarks on the spelling lesson ; saying 
that there were nine thousand words in this spelling- 
book, and that they touched almost every subject of 
thought, feeling, action, and conduct; and, in going 
over them, some important ideas on all these subjects 



96 BECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

might be attained, and they would have acquired the 
very soul of the language. 

The words were all spelled rightly ; and as the boys 
all sat perfectly still, Mr. Alcott said, referring to the 
circumstance of having appointed a superintendent dur- 
ing this hour, What eifect a thought has, — the thought 
of keeping one's name off a slate ! A thought, with a 
little will in it, keeps all these bodies still. What 
power a thought has ! it is very real, and quite as real 
as the body it keeps still. 

Took was illustrated thus : It took an hour to say 
the lesson ; he was taken ; and a story was told that 
had the word in it several times, and which also had 
the advantage of inculcating a moral lesson. A good 
deal was said of its various meanings ; and its gram- 
matical distinction from take was mentioned. 

Ihol was illustrated by a wood-saw, a plane, a trowel. 
The sentence. One person makes a tool of another, 
introduced a consideration of the depravity which led 
one person to make a tool of another ; the want of 
comprehension of the sacredness of the human mind, 
which could allow any one to make it a tool. He 
illustrated this by stories. He ended with saying, No 
mind is to be made a tool of, — no, not even by one's 
self I know some boys who make their minds the 
tools of their bodies, and that is very bad. 

Among his illustrations of tool^ he spoke of school- 
masters who made tools of their scholars wherewith 
to build up their own fortunes ; and he spoke of one 
school-master who had this plan, and who wanted him 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 97 

to assist hiin ! And he related their conversation, and 
thus had an opportunity of giving the scholars an idea 
of his own principles and views in pursuing this voca- 
tion. They seemed deeply interested, and I thought it 
fortunate that he took the opj^ortunity of bringing them 
to understand what his views were, since it gave them 
an opportunity of appreciating and co-operating with 
him ; and nothing is more important than for children 
to have a perception of a sacred sense of duty inspir- 
ing the instructor, for reverence is the baptism of soul 
which is necessary to prepare for " the mysterious com- 
munion of ignorance with wisdom." 

Parents do not always understand the indispensable- 
ness of this baptism, and often do their children a moral 
injury, which is utterly irreparable during the whole 
period of youth, by putting them under the care of 
persons whom they cannot or do not treat with rever- 
ence themselves. There is not a procedure more prof- 
ligate towards the child, to say nothing of the 
instructor, than for a parent to do this. There is no 
intellectual advantage (I do not hesitate to say) which 
can compensate for this moral disadvantage. And the 
intellectual disadvantage, in a majority of instances, is 
only second to the moral. For real intellectual action 
is intimately connected with the proper state of the 
soul. It can only be continuous, jDcrsevering, and 
honest when its motive is moral. There must be a 
perfect self-surrender, for the time being, in order that 
the intellect may see what is before it. Reservation 
throws a cloud over that which is to be presented to 

7 



98 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

the mind ; for to childhoocl, reservation is always an 
effort, and in exactly the contrary direction from the 
eflfort of taking in ideas. But there will be reservation 
— there can be no self-surrender — when there is want 
of faith in the instructor ; and this faith is to be inspired 
by sympathy from parents. 

He proceeded to the word type. What is a tj^ie ? 
said he. One boy said, A type is a metal letter which 
is used to stamp a sign upon paper. What is a word 
the sign or type of ? said Mr. Alcott. They severally 
said, of a thought; of an idea; of a feeling; of an 
object; of an action; of a quality. Language, said 
Mr. Alcott, is typical of whatever goes on within us, or 
is shaped out of us. What is the body a ty]3e of? Of 
the mind. What is the earth a type of? Of God, 
mind, heaven, were the several answers. I would go 
on much farther, said Mr. Alcott, if there was time. 
There are people who think and say that the world and 
outward things are all, because they do not know what 
they are typical of. I could show you that all outward 
things are produced out of those spiritual realities of 
which they are types. But the clock now t}7)ifies the 
hour of recess ; and you may go out. 

At the hour of dismissal, the whole school was brought 
together. One or two boys had been punished on their 
hands during the school hours, and one of the larger 
boys remarked that a certain gentleman (naming him) 
had said that he was sorry Mr. Alcott had found it 
necessary to use the ferule. Mr. Alcott said. Such of 
you as have been punished with the ferule may rise. 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 99 

Several did so. He then said, Such of you as have 
been made better, have been assisted in self-control, 
and in your memory, by being so punished, may sit 
down. All sat down but one. Mr. Alcott then remarked 
that he was sorry thoughts were not realized as they 
might be, to govern their actions. But as sometimes 
they were not, and many boys deemed thoughts to be 
unreal, it was necessary for outward things, which they 
did believe real, to take the side of conscience, and help 
to make them seem real and visible ; and he believed 
not one boy had been punished, Avithout acknowledg- 
ing, beforehand, that he felt it would do him good, and 
that it was Mr. Alcott's duty to give him that help. 
There was much conversation, which seemed quite satis- 
factory all round. Mr. Alcott then said that the gentle- 
man referred to was very wise in his judgment on a 
case that he knew ; but that it was not every boy w^ho . 
knew how to state a case truly, since, in order to state 
any case truly, it must be seen truly ; and it required 
self-knowledge and self-surrender to see truth in all 
cases. Was this boy capable of such self-knowledge 
and self-surrender as to state a case whose circum- 
stances condemned himself? We saw every day that 
here he could not even see any circumstances just as 
they w^ere, when they condemned himself; and how 
could he represent them ? Whoever thought that this 
boy would be likely to speak of the subject of punish- 
ment in this school justly, might hold up his hand. 
Not a single hand was held up. 

January Ibth. — I arrived at five minutes past nine, 



100 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

and found many of the children. All who were present 
were in their seats, attending to their lessons; and 
there were no words. At quarter of ten, Mr. Alcott 
began to read to the little children in Frank, and 
talked with them concerning the rights of private 
property. 

He then, with her consent, told the rest how one of 
them had been tempted to take something which did 
not belong to her, and at first even took it ; but by and 
by her conscience made her confess that she had it, and 
she gave it up. This was the story. This little girl 
went to a physician's house with a lame foot, and she 
found a very clean bandage on the floor, and she asked 
her father whose it was ; and her father told her he 
supposed it was some lame person's bandage, or it be- 
longed to the physician. The little girl kept unrolling 
and rolling up the bandage, and w^anted to have it very 
much. At last she put it under her cloak, so that 
nobody might see, and soon slipped it into her pocket 
very cunningly. She thought her father did not see. 
So she sat there a little while to see how it would seem. 
She found it was very unpleasant. She thought the 
bandage did not belong to her ; it belonged to some- 
body else. Her eyes looked strange. Her fither did 
not say any thing. He thought her conscience would 
soon speak. She did not know that he had seen her put 
the bandage into her pocket. At last she felt she must 
say something. Father! said she, I am going to do 
something. Yes, said her father, I know it ; and you 
had better do it now : so she took the bandage out, and 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. IQl 

said she did not want it, for it did not belong to her. 
And, when she went home, she told her mother she had 
come very near stealing ! Mr. Alcott, after telling the 
story, asked the others if they ever took any thing ; 
and they, and several more of the other class, acknowl- 
edged that they had sometimes. The lesson seemed to 
make a very serious impression. 

At twenty minutes past ten the whole class turned 
for recitation. Mr. Alcott then began. Is it right for 
scholars to sit idle when they have time given them to 
study a particular lesson ? No, sir, said several. 

Mr. Alcott went to several children separately, and 
gave them certain directions about sitting right, not 
whispering, nor speaking loud, &c., and severally told 
them that if they were not obedient, they might lose 
the recess. He told them that this punishment was 
necessary, because they were weak, and needed this- 
help to their inward strength. He then appointed a 
superintendent ; for he said, though each one ought to 
be a superintendent of himself, the idea of a name's 
being written down on a slate had a wonderful influence, 
as Ave saw yesterday. The best children did not act 
differently, but the weak ones did; they needed this 
assistance, which answered a present good end. 

A little boy turned round while the children were 
spelling, and did not attend to Mr. Alcott. Mr. Alcott 
called to him, and asked him where the words came 
from ; if they did not come out of Mr. Alcott's mouth ; 
and why he did not look at him. Then several words 
were defined and illustrated. Trap was illustrated 



102 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

figuratively in one instance ; and Mr. Alcott said he 
hoped that the boy who was speaking had too much 
respect for his own mind ever to set traps for human 
minds. They all illustrated the word literally, by tell- 
ing of the traps they set for each other in play. Mr. 
Alcott asked if they could tell why there was so much 
fun in setting traps. They did not explain it ; and Mr. 
Alcott undertook to do so, by showing that it was the 
exercise of the understanding merely. But he asked 
why they thought of the pleasure of ingenuity, rather 
than sympathized with the boy caught, wdio was very 
often hurt or angry. They did not seem to know. 
The subject went farther, into the morality of sporting. 
The wickedness of cheating in school and in other 
cases was also discussed. At last it branched off into 
begging pardons, acknowledging faults, &c. ; and the 
conversation extended to twelve o'clock, without the 
children's making any reference to the time of recess 
having come. 

"When speaking of traps, one boy said he heard of a 
trap Mr. Alcott had set. Mr. Alcott induced him to 
tell him. It was a story of something which happened 
in another school of Mr. Alcott's, and which one of the 
scholars had told to another boy, who had told it to a 
boy in this school. When it was finished, Mr. Alcott 
told the thing as it was ; and it seemed that the prin- 
cipal point of the story, as it had been told, was false. 
Mr. Alcott said the boy referred to was a very bad one, 
and was at the school so short a time he had not become 
better. He then told several stories of boys in that 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 103 

town who were taken away from his school because 
they were punished, and sometimes just at the moment 
that the punishment had begun to alter tlieir charac- 
ters. He told one where a boy's punishment wa^ to 
kneel to his companions, and acknowledge a fliult. One 
or two said nothing would induce them to do that. I 
asked if, when they had injured others deeply, they 
would not delight to do any thing to repair it, and to 
show that they were sorry for' it. And when they came 
to hear what the boy in question had done, and what 
traits of character he had displayed, they all agreed 
that the kneeling punishment was the only dignity in 
such a case. 

After recess, Mr. Alcott put all but the first class in 
reading to their arithmetic lessons. 

The piece selected for reading was fi*om " Recollec- 
tions of Childhood." 

I saw the infant cherub, — soft it lay, 

As it was wont, within its cradle, now 

Decked with sweet smiling flowers. A sight so strange 

Filled my young breast with wonder, and I gazed 

Upon the babe the more. I thought it slept, — 

And yet its little bosom did not move ! 

I bent me down to look into its eyes. 

But they were closed ; then softly clasped its hand. 

But mine it would not clasp. What should I do ? 

" Wake, brother, wake ! " I then impatient cried ; 

*' Open thine eyes, and look on me again ! " 

He would not hear my voice. All pale beside 

My weeping mother sat, " and gazed and looked 

Unutterable things." " Will he not wake ? " 

I eager asked. She answered but with tears 

Her eyes on me at length, with piteous look, 



104 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Were cast, — now on the babe once more were fixed. 

And now on me ; then, with convulsive sigh 

And throbbing heart, she clasped me in her arms. 

And in a tone of anguish faintly said, 

"My dearest boy, thy brother does not sleep; 

Alas ! he's dead ; he never will awake." 

He's dead ! I knew not what it meant, but more 

To know I sought not. For the words so sad, 

" He never will awake," sunk in my soul ; 

I felt a pang unknown before ; and tears. 

That angels might have shed, my heart dissolved. 

Whose recollections are these ? said Mr. Alcott. Mr. 
Pickering's, said one. What is the meaning of the 
word recollect? No answer. What is the meaning of 
collect f To bring together, said one. What, then, is 
the meaning of recollect? One said, to collect again. 
What did Mr. Pickering recollect? said Mr. Alcott. 
Some things he collected in childhood, said one. Are 
you now collecting or re-collecting the impressions of 
childhood ? Some thought they had begun to re-col- 
lect, as well as to collect. Shall I tell you an idea 
some people have of recollecting, reminiscence, remem- 
brance? Yes, said several of them. Mr. Alcott con- 
tinued (pointing to the bust of Plato), That man 
believed that all our feelings and thoughts were the 
remembrances of another state of existence, before we 
came into the world in our present bodies. And he 
(pointing to the cast of Jesus Christ) used to say of 
himself that he came forth from God ; that he had 
lived before. In the Gospel of St. John there are many 
passages in which he refers to his pre-existent state. 

Mr. Alcott then began and read, " I thought it slept." 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 105 

One of the boys said that he did not think it was right 
to say to the child that "he would never awake." Mr. 
Alcott said that the same thought had occurred to 
him as he was reading ; that it was the moment when 
it would have been well to have told the child of 
the spiritual waking, and not to have let it stoj) Avith 
the idea of bodily death. The mother, however, only 
intended to say that the bodily eyes would never 
wake. 

One boy said that he thought it impious to say, " And 
tears that angels might have shed my heart dissolved." 
Mr. Alcott asked, Why ? He said, because the tears 
of a child are not good enough to be called angels' 
tears. Mr. Alcott said, It means they are innocent 
tears. 

Another boy said that angels would not have wept, 
because they would have known about the life of the. 
other world. 

Mr. Alcott asked why the infmt was called a cherub. 
They said, because it was good ; because it was beau- 
tiful, &c. Mr. Alcott asked what idea they had of a 
cherub ; and each answered according to his own ideas. 

What is this piece of j^oetry about ? said Mr. Alcott. 
Death, said one. Yes ; the appearances to the senses 
when a spirit departs from the body of an infmt. 
What were the appearances ? The boy read the words, 
" the cradle," " the flowers," " the still body." What 
else is described? The feelings and sentiments these 
appearances produced, said one. Did these appearances 
produce the sentiments in the mind, or wake uj) senti- 



106 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

nients which were ah-eady there ? There was no answer 
to this question. Do the appearances carry the senti- 
ments into the mind, or bring them out? One girl 
said, Carry them in ; a boy at the same moment said, 
Bring them out. Mr. Alcott asked if there were any 
sentiments in the outward world. The girl immediately 
changed her mind. 

Why did Mr. Pickering "gaze the more"? One 
said, because he " thought it slept." What did he ob- 
serve as he gazed the more ? That " its bosom did not 
move." What did he then do ? He tried to look into 
the eyes. How were they ? " Closed." What did he 
do next ? He " took his hand." What did he seem to 
expect ? That it would " clasp his ; " but it did not. 
What was his feeling then ? He did not know what to 
do, and he addressed the body impatiently. And what 
then took place ? The baby "would not hear his voice." 
Why did Mr. Pickering think he would not ; where did 
he get that thought ? He thought the si:)irit was still 
there. Yes, said Mr. Alcott. It is the spirit that wills ; 
and to whom did his mind then turn ? To his mother. 
How did she look? "Pale and weeping." And it 
seemed to typify what it was not possible to voice 
out, said Mr. Alcott ; but do you think there are any 
unutterable things in your spirit? A little girl said 
after a long pause. Yes. Mr. Alcott said. Yes, there are 
some unutterable things in every mind — feelings, not 
thoughts ; so feeling is finer and deeper than thought. 
Were all the deepest feelings bodied forth in sculj)ture, 
or painting, or in things, or voiced out in words, what 



JOURNAL OF TEE SCHOOL. 107 

would it all be? After a pause two spoke at once, and 
said, God. They meant that complete expression of rdl 
inward life would be a full manifestation of God. Thus 
they made feelings as well as thoughts synonymous with 
spirit. 

What else does Mr. Pickering say of the mother? 
"Tears." What are tears? Expressions of unutter- 
able things. All tears ? No, some are on trifling occa- 
sions. Are you ashamed of your tears ? Sometimes. 
" Jesus wept," said Mr. Alcott, and it was on a similar 
occasion, when there was death. What else did the 
mother do? She " clasped him." Why? Because she 
was orlad that he was alive. What else did she do ? 

o 

"She sighed." Yes, another emblem of an agitated 
sj^irit. 

In this way, Mr. Alcott went on over every particular 
of the description, and the lesson continued for an hour 
and a half, of which I have given above not the most 
interesting, or the largest part, as I forgot I was writ- 
ing, many times. 

January 16^A. — When I arrived at quarter past nine, 
I found the children quietly seated at their lessons. 
One of the girls handed me a note, in answer to one I 
had written to her expressing my pleasure in her moral 
progress after we had had occasion to blame her a good 
deal. It expressed gratitude to Mr. Alcott and me for 
not sparing her faults. Such demonstrations are the 
instructor's true reward. 

At half-past nine Mr. Alcott took his little class. 
They looked very animated. Mr. Alcott said. You 



108 EECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

seem to look very much pleased when I come to read 
to YOU. They all smiled. He began, "A few days 
after." What is a few ? Two or three. " His mother 
called Frank ! " You know Frank always looked when 
his mother said Frank ; do you always look when your 
father and mother speak your name ? Sometimes, said 
they. She said. Get your hat. What do you think 
Frank did? He got his hat instantly, and he went 
along jumping and singing. What did he jump and 
sing for ? Because he was glad, &c., &c. 

It is impossible to follow these reading lessons. To 
hear Mr. Alcott read at least once, would give a better 
idea of it than pages of description. Every sentence 
is addressed to the children, and required back from 
them ; and there is no point of morality or conduct 
touched on which is not taken up and applied, and 
wandering eyes are steadied as an exercise in self-con- 
trol. After this lesson is read, the little children turn 
round to their desks, and are encouraged to make letters 
and pictures on their tablets, from the models which 
are scattered over their desks in profusion. Books of 
pictures are also there, and they are led in this way to 
exercise their eyes upon forms, to their great advantage, 
it being the most excellent preparation for all their 
future studies. Mr. Alcott requires them to be so still 
as not to interrupt or disturb the school ; but that is 
all. They are constantly amused and engaged, and 
seem perfectly happy. They often turn round to hear 
w^hat Mr. Alcott tells or reads to the other children, 
especially if he reads stories. 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 109 

Mr. Alcott tlien took the smaller division of the class, 
aucl spelled and defined the words, and talked to them 
on the subjects brought up by the lesson. Wise^ said 
he, means to have good feelings and good thoughts, and 
to act them out. If you have no good feelings or good 
thoughts, you are not wise ; and even if you have good 
feelings and good thoughts, and you do not act them 
out, you are not wise. THcsp was one of the words ; 
and, to illustrate it, he read that passage of the " Story 
without an End," where the child sees the Will-o'-the- 
Wisp. 

At ten minutes i^ast ten, the spelling lesson began, 
after he had placed the chairs of the smaller division 
very far apart from each other, so that the children 
should not be tempted to whisper. One boy was made 
the superintendent ; and Mr. Alcott said to him. You 
know you cannot put down a name because you wish . 
to, nor refrain from putting it down because you do not 
wish to. Conscience must write down the names, not 
inclination. There is the responsibility of each boy's 
pleasure for half an hour resting on you ; do you under- 
stand ? Yes. 

Now all define or illustrate silence by action, or rather 
by no action. There was a pause. We are going to 
name thoughts, feelings, and actions, or to word them. 
Is tree the wording of a thought, person, action, feeling, 
or thing ? A thing. Is trhn the wording of a thing, 
person, action, or feeling ? An action. All the words 
were thus half defined. Then they were spelled ; and, 
what is very uncommon, three words were spelled 



110 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

wrong. The words were afterwards defined and illus- 
trated. 

When the word vast was defined, Mr. Alcott asked 
if the idea of vastness was within or without ? Several 
answered, both. Some said, within. One hesitated, 
and Mr. Alcott asked, what was vast? He said, the 
ocean. Mr. Alcott asked if the ocean did not wake up 
the idea of vast in his mind. He replied. Yes, and so 
vastness is in the mind. What, then, is the ocean? 
said Mr. Alcott. An emblem of vastness, said the boy. 
The ocean, then, is the external, visible, material sign, 
type, or emblem, of the internal, invisible, spiritual idea 
of vastness ; is it ? This definition was relocated, in 
nearly the same words, by two of the class. 

The word veil led to a consideration of the body as 
the veil of the spirit, and of the earth as the veil of 
many of the ideas of God. When was the veil of 
sense wrapped round our souls ? said Mr. Alcott. When 
we were born, said one. When will it be taken away ? 
When we die, said several. Cannot the veil be raised 
till we die ? After a while, it was seen, and said, that 
the veil could be raised by being born again out of 
sense into thoughts or spirit, — by insight. Mr. Alcott 
then repeated the passage from St. Paul about being 
caught up to the third heaven, and asked them whether 
the veil was raised for that man. They said, Yes. 
He then said that the object of this school was to unveil 
the soul; and he was glad to hear that one of the 
scholars had said, out of school, that it was impossible 
to remain in it, and not learn to know one's self 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. Hi, 

January 16^A. — When the children were arranged 
to spell, Mr. Alcott began: Such of you as feel an 
interest in this lesson, hold up your hands. All did. 
Why ? One boy said, Because it teaches us to spell, 
and gives us meanings of words. Another said, Be- 
cause of the conversations that arise. Why are these 
conversations interesting? said Mr. Alcott. Because 
they give us new ideas, replied the boy. Many others 
said they liked them for the same reason. Mr. Alcott 
then said, Conversations are the most perfect transcript 
of mind. Could the conversations of great men be 
recorded, it would give us a better idea of them than 
any history of their lives. Why is the New Testament 
so interesting? Because it is full of the conversations 
of Jesus. And the conversations of Socrates make 
perhaps the next most interesting book in the world. 
Conversation is full of life; for the spirit's workings 
come out in conversation, fresh and vivid. 

He now appointed a superintendent ; and, seeing a 
boy laughing without apparent reason, he said he might 
write down any smiles that did not arise out of the sub- 
ject of the lesson ; for smiles indicate a state of mind, 
and, when something is in the mind which has no rela- 
tion to the subject, it is out of place. Besides, several 
take up the smile, and attention is diverted. It is true 
that smiles may arise out of the subject, and then they 
are proper. One boy said. If we had longer words, we 
should have more interesting conversations. Mr. Alcott 
said, The short Avords have the most meaning in them ; 
and he illustrated this by a great many instances. 



112 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

He then took the si^elling lesson and began to talk, 
and make observations upon the scholars, illustrating 
the first word ivork in every variety of application, 
literal and figurative ; and he went on in this talk, bring- 
ing in every word of the lesson, in various meanings. 
The children soon caught the idea, and joined in, and 
made sentences also, as they arose in their minds, in 
which the words were applied figuratively, according to 
their fancies. Lines of poetry were also quoted. It 
would not be possible to follow this desultory conver- 
sation, although it was conducted with perfect order. 
At one point of it (the word yean) Mr. Alcott took 
down Wordsworth, and read " Barbara Leithwaite," in 
which this word occurred. When he had read this 
half through, he laid down the book ; but they begged 
him to finish it, and he took it up again, and read the 
story through. 

YelJc^ he said, was the food by which the germ of life 
was nourished into the power of forming a body that 
might individualize it ; and he said the earth (perhaps) 
was the yelk by which souls were nourished or born 
into a consciousness of the spiritual life. He explained 
this a little. All eyes were fixed upon him almost con- 
stantly. Neither a sense of duty alone, nor the attrac- 
tion of the speaker alone, could explain the profound 
attention of these children. But the combination of 
the two causes is irresistible. And Mr. Alcott requires 
them to seem attentive, as well as to be attentive. He 
often talks to them on the i^ossibility and the duty of 
making every part of their body express the thought 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 113 

of their minds, and tells them that they must not accuse 
j)eople of injustice who inteq^ret their automatic move- 
ments and careless habits. 

The word yawn led to some amusing anecdotes 
about yawning ; but he soon arrested them, and said, 
that Avas enough. He added, however, that he liked 
amusino; stories ; and he thouo-ht tliese shoidd be inter- 
mingled with serious stories, in right proportion — but 
stories of one kind made the mind one-sided. ^ 

After Mr. Alcott had illustrated all the words of the 
lesson by this conversation, he took the dictionary and 
read Johnson's definitions, to see how much resemblance 
there was ; and this led to further remarks on the words. 
He then heard the words spelled, and asked each one 
to give a short definition. 

Every day he varies the mode of this lesson, in 
order that it may not sink into a routine. There 
was a hesitation at the word yean. Mr. Alcott said. 
The earth yeans its millions of productions. To give 
birth to, was immediately responded. Mr. Alcott 
said yeanling meant a young one until it was 
weaned. 

Zeal was defined by one of the boys, to feel so much 
as to set the will a-going. A recent scholar, a little 
boy, whispered once, in the course of the hour and a 
half; and Mr. Alcott said. Little boy, do you know that 
you break the rules of this school when you whisper? 
He then remarked that to want to do any thing, was 
no reason at all for doing it; the question was, does 
God want it to be done ? — While I was attending to 

8 



114 BECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

the Latin, after recess, Mr. Alcott gave lessons in Arith- 
metic and English Grammar. 

January Vith. — I arrived before nine, and found 
some of the scholars at their seats, and also heard 
some Geometry lessons. I then looked over, in order 
to read, my journal of the last week, while the class 
were spelling their lesson, omitting the defining of the 
words. As soon as the spelling was done, I read the 
journal of the week past ; and they were very attentive 
indeed. The idea of having this Journal read, seems 
to create a happy influence on the school. No one 
defends his faults when he sees himself in the Journal. 
It is evidently a great aid to self-knowledge. 

Mr. Alcott then prepared to read in the Bible. He 
appointed a superintendent, and made some remarks on 
the assistance a superintendent gave to the weak. I 
am going to read' about One, said he, of whose thoughts, 
actions, and feelings you always delight to hear ; whom 
you are reminded of by that cast (pointing to it) ; for 
that is a representation of the body out of which he 
looked. All spirits, in this world, are in bodies ; his was ; 
just as your spirits are in your bodies. Well, this one 
said, " I and my Father are one ; " he did not mean one 
body, but one spirit ; that they had the same thoughts 
and feelings ; all pure spirits, all real spirits, must have 
the same thoughts and feelings, must be one with God ; 
all that is truly spiritual in your souls is one with God. 
But the Jews did not understand him when he said 
that he and his Father were one. The people around 
him thought less of their spirits, than about bodies; 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 115 

so they did not understand him (perhaps they did 
not try, said he, very expressively, addressing one boy 
of an inactive mind). And they repHed, You do not 
speak truly, in saying that you are God ! Kow he did 
not mean his body, but they did not attend to see 
what he meant ; they misunderstood, as some thought- 
less boys do here when I speak in pictures. And they 
took up stones to stone him. But he said, Remember 
what works you have seen me do ; I have done a great 
many good works among you, such as God would do ; 
and I did them to show you what works God does; I 
have done many compassionate, kind w^orks ; for wdiich 
one of these works are you going to stone me ? They 
said. We do not stone you for your good works, but for 
saying you are God. Jesus said. But in your own books, 
that you believe in, it is said, " Ye are gods." I say 
nothing new when I say that my spirit is one with 
God's. All spirits are of God, as you already know; 
and why do you say I do not speak true, w^hen I say I 
am the Son of God ; especially since my w^orks are such 
as He would do ? If I do not such works as God does, 
I do not want you to believe me spiritual ; but the 
works ! believe, attend to, think about them ; and they 
will convince you that I am in the Father, and the 
Father in me. Then they sought to take him, but he 
walked away. And why did they seek to take him? 
They did not imderstand that the spirit in them was 
of God ; they did not want to feel obliged to look into 
themselves; they preferred to attend to their bodies. 
Perhaps they did not understand him ; but it w^as only 



116 RECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

because they did not try; it is our duty to try. Jesus 
went away to the place where John used to put water 
on the bodies of such as intended to be good, as an 
emblem of the cleansing of mind which he taught. 

Jesus soon had an o23portunity to prove what he said 
about the spirit's being one with God. A friend of his 
died ; it was the brother of Mary and Martha. That 
was the Mary who had anointed the Lord with oint- 
ment, and wiped his feet with her hair. A messenger 
came to Jesus and said, " He whom you love is sick." 
Jesus said to those about him, I do not grieve for it ; 
for by this sickness of Lazarus, I shall be able to show 
you that the spirit is one with God, that it cannot die ; 
and I am glad that God may be brought out to your 
eyes, by a display of spiritual power. And he stayed 
two days where he was, and then he said, Let us go into 
Judea again. 

Now his friends remembered the stoning, and they 
said What! will you go where you will be killed; 
where your body will be hurt, will be stoned ? Yes, he 
said, I shall go. Our friend Lazarus sleeps ; I go that 
I may wake him out of his sleep. His disciples said, 
" If he sleep, he shall do well : " they meant, if he only 
sleeps, for they did not understand that Jesus meant 
the sleep of death. Then Jesus said (for he saw they 
did not understand him). He is dead. And I am glad of 
it for your sake : for now I shall be able to make you 
undei'stand the spirit's life, — that part of us which is 
one with God, and that cannot die. Mr. Alcott para^ 
phrased the whole story thus ; but I could not keep up 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 117 

with my pen. The children were profoundly attentive, 
and deeply impressed. 

January 20th. — I was not well and did not come ; 
and for this I was very sorry, for Mr. Alcott reviewed all 
tlie spelling lessons of the last six weeks, and it was very 
interesting, he said, to see how the words brought up, 
by association, the past illustrations and conversations. 
Mr. Alcott said he was delighted to find how the little 
ones had been benefited by the ideas, and how they 
recalled the most important, as soon as they looked at 
the words. He had had every reason to believe that 
these conversations were useful, from their expression 
of attention at the moment ; but it was an additional 
gratification to find that the most general and ideal 
conversations were remembered most distinctly. For 
it was most worthy of remark, in the review, that the 
most general views and the most ideal pictures were 
those which had seized most strongly on the minds of 
the younger children. 

January 1\st. — I arrived at a little after nine. 

Mr. Alcott showed me Peale's Graphics, which, he 
said, had brought out beautifully the theory of chirog- 
raphy which he had long attempted to put in prac- 
tice ; and had connected it with drawing. I looked 
over it and found that it was the very thing for this 
school. 

Mr. Alcott first read to the little class of four, and 
then took the younger division of the spelling class. 
One of the boys said, Mr. Alcott, I have learned my 
lesson ; on which Mr. Alcott, taking up a book, imitated 



118 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

the manner in whicli a cliikl tried to study with the lips 
without the mind. They all laughed: and he then 
explained study to be thinking about words, until 
pictures were formed in their minds ; and he ridiculed 
the humming, buzzing, whispering over the words, 
moving the body, &c., by imitating it himself; and 
when he asked if they understood him, if they agreed 
with his views, if they had had such habits, if they had 
any of these still, if they saw their folly, if they would 
give them all up, &c., they all confessed, and seemed 
disposed to reform. He then described how this lesson 
should be studied, how they could think beforehand of 
illustrating the words in sentences, and convinced them 
that to learn the spelling lesson thoroughly would 
require the whole hour assigned to it. He said that 
a great variety of exercises on words were coming. 
Next week he should vary the mode of considering 
words ; for it was necessary to apply the mind in new 
ways to this subject, in order that they should not 
forget to think. 

Mr. Alcott then said, that if any were inattentive 
during the lesson, if they did not behave well, he 
should deprive them of instruction after recess. He 
then spoke of the importance of looking at him, in 
order to catch the full meanings that went from him. 

A girl then said, Mr. Alcott, I wonder how it is that 
we sit here over the spelling lesson as long as we are 
in church, and yet I am never the least fatigued; 
while, in church, I am so tired, and we have to sit as still 
here as there. The rest agreed with her in wondering 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 119 

how it was. Mr. Alcott said it was because their own 
minds were active here, and activity of mind made the 
blood circulate, and the whole body feel vigorous. He 
said it was one of his great objects to call forth the 
soul in action, to govern the body. He spoke of 
manners, and said that, for good manners, there must 
be both refined minds and the early acquired habit ot 
letting the mind govern the body. 

The words were spelled first; they were of five 
letters. Every word was spelled right. The httle 
boys were then told to take their spelling-books, and 
hold their fingers on each word whrle these were illus- 
trated. 

The most interesting word was UacJc^ in its figura- 
tive meanings, as wicked, sad. It was spoken of as 
the color for mourning, and Mr. Alcott said he thought 
it was unfortunate that this color should be used when 
people's friends left this world. He spoke of the cus- 
tom of burning the dead and keeping the dust, and 
of other methods of removing the sad ideas of decay 
which it is best to separate from death. We observed 
that the children had no sad ideas of death, and that 
they generally thought it was rather a subject of joy 
than of grief. 

There was a talk with one boy who made objection 
to the encroachment upon the recess ; and Mr. Alcott 
said that this boy thought it was wrong to lose one 
moment's play, but he did not think it wrong to occupy 
ever so much time in school hours with unnecessary 
opposition. He said were it not for his health, he 



120 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

should deprive him entirely of recess on account of 
his encroachments upon school hours. 

After recess, the youngest scholars were emj^loyed, 
some in drawing, and some in arithmetic. The rest 
were formed into a large semicircle, for an analysis of 
the passage, " Stay thy soft murmuring waters, gentle 
rill ; " quoted by Miss Edgeworth from Darwin. 

The scale was made, and Mr. Alcott asked them if 
they thought the word objects was the best name for 
such words as were generally put in that column. 
Some thought that the word things would be better ; 
but, on further reflection, perceived it would not be so 
general as the word objects. He then asked what they 
thought about that word actions. Jlovements, stirrbigs, 
changes^ were suggested ; acts was decided upon. 

After the analysis was finished, he asked them whether 
the objects in this passage were external or internal. 
External. What sort of poetry is this? External, 
worldly, material, were the. various answers. He at 
last led them to say, descriptive. 

When 23ointing out questions, they always told what 
object or action was qualified. When they noted a 
substitute, they told what word it was substituted for ; 
and the relations were explained. 

After it was over, Mr. Alcott explained to them that 
this was grammar, and every thing in language could be 
learned without the words verbs^ nouns^ tenses^ &c. One 
of the children asked why then they should ever learn 
those words. Mr. Alcott told them, for the convenience 
of learning other languages. They then retired to their 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 121 

seats, and some remarks were made on order. Mr. 
Alcott said, There are two j^ersons here who are always 
very orderly. Several children immediately named two 
of the scholars. 

January I'M. — I arrived late. When the little class 
was arranged, Mr. Alcott said he should read a short 
lesson. One said he wanted a long one. Mr. Alcott 
said that might be, if their minds did not wander away. 

Then the younger division of the spelling lesson 
spelled, and he told them to take their books, and keep 
their fingers on the words as the rest of the class spelled 
and talked about them. The class turned and arranged 
themselves very quietly. 

What ideas does the word blade bring into your 
mind ? said Mr. Alcott. A spire of grass, and the part 
of the knife that cuts, said one. The next added, a gay 
young man; the next, a sword; the next, a scythe. 
Another boy said, A blade may be a figurative expres- 
sion for the mind when it is sharpened by wisdom. 
Another said, the shoulder-blade. The next said, a 
pair of scissors. Mr. Alcott then read Johnson's defini- 
tion, and spoke of the blades of corn, and quoted the 
expression, " first the blade, then the ear then the full 
corn in the ear." 

What ideas do you connect with the word blame? 
To reproach, said one. What is reproach ? Find fault 
with, said the next. Blame is speaking ill of, said the 
next ; and the next said, to accuse one of being the 
means of something wrong being done. One little boy 
said, to blame was to punish ; another said it was to 



122 BEGOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

scold. Mr. Alcott tlien read Johnson's definition, and 
the definitions of all the derivatives. He then asked 
those who thought they were blameless to hold up their 
hands. No one held up his hand, but one boy said his 
minister was blameless. Mr. Alcott said he was glad 
he had so high an idea of him. The next boy pointed 
to the cast of Christ as the only blameless one. Mr. 
Alcott said to a boy who did not like to be blamed, 
that it was a great character which could receive blame 
without resentment. Another boy said that he could 
never be blamed without being angry. Mr. Alcott said, 
that was just his fault. A good deal was said of bear- 
ing blame meekly, even when deserved. 

After a while Mr. Alcott asked two of the scholars 
if they did not think that, a few months before, they 
were too apt to be angry when they were blamed, and 
to defend themselves when they were really in the 
wrong? They both confessed. Mr. Alcott said they 
had entered the Wicket gate, and the burden had loos- 
ened from their backs; for that he never saw any 
children who were such extraordinary instances of the 
determination not to be found fiiidt with ; and that, if 
they had got over that, they had accomplished more 
than if they had learned a whole science. He was glad 
that they had made progress. 

£liss was defined as the highest degree of pleasure. 
One boy remarked that pleasure had once before been 
defined as the enjoyment of the body, and happiness as 
the enjoyment of the mind. Another boy said bliss 
was the pleasure of the body and mind; indeed, he 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL, 123 

thought pleasure and happiness were the same. Mr. 
Alcott said he did not like to have these things con- 
founded, and that he thought it was only when all the 
pleasures of the body were lost in the happiness of the 
mind that there was bliss. He spoke of the pleasures 
of the body as interfering with those of the mind, by 
overtasking the body. He asked those who thought 
they knew what bliss was, to hold up their hands. 
Some did. He then asked why we were so made as to 
delight in pleasure. As no one replied, he answered, 
that by the disappointment which it involved, it led us 
to seek for real happiness. He spoke of Hercules's 
choice. He then asked those who thought they had 
ever mistaken pleasure for happiness, to hold uj) their 
hands. Some did. Mr. Alcott said. Pleasure is the 
divinity of earth, and bliss descends from heaven. He 
allowed, however, that pleasure may typify bliss. 

JBloat^ he said, was a good word to follow this conver- 
sation ; for pleasure sometimes bloats. It was defined 
as swelling out ; an intoxicated man was bloated. By 
pleasure, said Mr. Alcott, or by happiness ? By pleas- 
ure, said several at once. 

Brace was defined, and carried into its figurative 
meanings, of strengthening the mind, &c. ; and virtue 
was said to brace body and mind. These were the most 
interesting words. 

January 24:th. — I arrived a few minutes after nine, 
and found them in their seats at a writing lesson. Mr. 
Alcott Avent round and round, looking at their writing, 
till quarter of ten. When he had read to the little 



124 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

class as usual, lie asked tli(5se of the other class who 
had not whispered to turn round. Only ten turned, 
and none of the older scholars had been silent. Mr. 
Alcott then asked some of the scholars, calling them by 
name, for what they came up to the Temple to-day. 
One boy did not answer. Another said, To come to 
school. Mr. Alcott asked why he came to school. As 
there was no answer, he said that the object for which 
boys generally went to school was to study the sciences ; 
but he hoped that all who came here knew that they 
came not only for science, but to study themselves. He 
then asked a very good boy what he thought he came 
to school for. He said, To improve his mind and heart. 
(A little boy here began to move about, and Mr. Alcott 
told him he had troubled him for several days, and now 
he should take him out of the room for correction, in 
order to save the necessity of harder punishment by 
and by ; which he did.) 

When he came back, a little girl was asked what she 
came for ; if she came merely for the lessons. She said, 
No. Mr. Alcott said. You come here to learn how to 
behave at home ; I do not mean to learn how to make 
bows and courtesies, but to feel and think better. And 
then he said if any had begun to be conscious that they 
treated their parents at home with more feeling, from 
having more feeling, than they used to do, they might 
hold up their hands. Many held up their hands. Some 
thought they could not care more for their parents than 
they did now. To one boy who thought so, Mr. Alcott 
said that when he never disobeyed them, when he cared 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 125 

as much for their wishes as his own, he might say he 
could not love them any better, but not till then. 

I read my Journal, and they all agreed that no injus- 
tice had been done to them in the Journal, though one 
boy said that two things seemed to him to have been 
stated differently from the fact ; he could not remember 
what they were, however. 

Mr. Alcott then proposed to read, and gave five 
minutes grace, during w^hich several children went out. 
After having read a story of jealousy and malignity on 
the one side, and of generosity and long-suffering on 
the other, he asked those who thought they knew what 
this spirit of generosity and long-suffering was, to hold 
up their hands. Several did. Who among you has 
exercised it ? said he. One boy alone held up his hand, 
at wiiich the rest smiled. Mr. Alcott thought that all 
present might find scope for the exercise of this feeling 
every day, at home and in school. Mr. Alcott then 
asked. What is forbearance ? One boy answered, bear- 
ing things for others; anotlier said, bearing other 
people's malice patiently, and doing good to them. 
Does bearing and forbearing come from the body or 
the mind ? From the mind. Which is uppermost when 
you bear or forbear? The heart. Did you ever give 
up one of your body's wants, because it was right ? said 
he to a little boy, who was doing something wrong. 
Yes. He added- that the measure of goodness might 
be taken, in any person, by seeing how much they sacri- 
ficed their body's wants to those of the mind. No 
person was good who found that he could not sacrifice 



126 RECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

his body's wants to those of the mind. Every boy 
might judge himself, by reflecting hoAV much and how 
easily he sacrificed his body's wants to those of the 
mind. He wished they would all think in their own 
minds how much goodness they had, according to this 
test. 

After recess the children came in and took their 
seats, fi'om the anteroom and from the Common. A 
boy brought up his journal, which he had just begun; 
and Mr. Alcott remarked that he was one who had 
begun to learn to write by printing, and therefore, 
though his hand was not yet strong enough to make 
his writing graceful, yet the distinctness of the writing 
showed that the idea of every letter was right in his 
mind. He added that he always found this distinctness 
in the writing of those who began with printing. 

He then read this journal to himself at the boy's re- 
quest, and afterwards the other journals aloud. He 
told one journalist that he wished he would put more 
of himself into the journal ; the boy of that journal, 
was a mere automaton ; he came in, and went out, and 
did things, but he never felt or thought. He took up 
another boy's journal next, because the boy seemed 
to be very anxious to have his journal read; Mr. 
Alcott found great difficulty in reading his handwriting, 
and at last had to give it up ; and he advised the boy 
to print for a month, all the time, in order to give some 
clearness to his handwriting. Mr. Alcott then said 
that four of them might either give uj) writing the 
journal, and write printed letters (the best way to 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 127 

learn to write), or write the script hand better and 
more clearly. 

A great deal of movement, unnecessary sj^eaking, &c., 
interrupted Mr. Alcott in all his conversations this 
morning. So he stopped reading the journals, and 
went around and told what boys and girls he had faith 
in, and what boys and girls he had not faith in. There 
seemed to be a general sense of justice in his classifica- 
tion. He said that he had been so much interrupted 
to-day that he should retain some of the scholars after 
school. This produced a perfect silence, during which 
time he told a story to illustrate the grounds of having 
faith in others. 

Mr. Alcott praised the writing of one of the girls in 
her journal, and said that the journal gave something 
of her mind. One of the four boys whose writing had 
been blamed did not seem to like it that she should be 
praised ; and to fear that Mr. Alcott omitted to mention 
all her bad spelling. Mr. Alcott said two words were 
spelled wrong, but there were a great many words wrong 
in his journal, which he had omitted to mention, because 
he thought it would make him angry ; for he had said, 
a day or two before, he could not have his faults 
pointed out, without being angry. Another girl's 
journal was full of her thoughts and feelings, very 
much superior to any journal we have had ; and Mr. 
Alcott praised it, but she was not i^resent to-day. 

January 2Qth. — At ten o'clock, Mr. Alcott called on 
the class of spelling to rise, and fix their blackboards, 
and write the spelling lesson to his dictation with their 



128 BECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

chalk pencils. This afforded occasion for remarks on 
their writing. It takes two things, said he, to make a 
good writer; one is a clear conception of beautiful 
forms in the mind, and another is the skill to guide 
the hand. Some persons have one of these qualities 
without the other. He recommended a carefid study 
of the forms in Peale's Graphics, and a great deal of 
practice; telling them how, when he was a child, he 
was fond of printing on the snow, in the sand, &c. 

When they came to the word hraiyi^ in the spelling 
lesson, Mr. Alcott asked, what was the difference be- 
tween the brain and the mind? One boy said. The 
brain, when not used figuratively, means a part of the 
head, and the mind means the seat of learning and 
thought. Another said. The brain is the soft part of 
the head, the inside ; and the mind is the hard part of 
the head. Mr. Alcott asked him if he thought that 
matter could think. He said, No. Mr. Alcott said. 
But you think the mind is matter, if you think it is 
the hard part of the head. A small boy here said. Is 
not the brain the case of the mind ? and another boy 
answered him. The brain is the seed of the mind. 
Two little boys said the brain was the sense ; one girl 
said it was the understanding. Mr. Alcott said, I 
gliould say the brain is the instrument by which the 
spirit acts ; from which remark ensued a long conver- 
sation, to meet the difficulties of the older children, 
who had confounded the mind with its organs; and 
the subject, not being exhausted at half-past eleven, 
was left to be resumed another day, as the recess hour 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 129 

was come, and the time after recess was devoted to 
Latin and arithmetic. 

January Tlth. — The subject of the brain was re- 
sumed, and the materialist of yesterday was brouglit to 
discriminate the mind from its organs, by the question, 
whether he thought that when the soul ascended, the 
brain went with it. The truth was, that it was only a 
disputatious sjDirit which had made him fight off the 
right idea so long. Mr. Alcott closed by asking those 
who thought the mind and the brain were not the same 
thing to hold up their hands ; and all held up their 
hands. 

January 1%th. — When the school turned, at ten 
o'clock, to face Mr. Alcott, he said. All who have 
whispered this morning may turn back. All the girls 
and some of the boys turned back. All who have 
asked unnecessary questions may turn back. Several 
more turned. He then said, Now those who have not 
whispered, but consulted their own memories about 
their places, and depended on me to supply them with 
all they wanted, without asking questions, may rise. 
They did so, and he said. These are my scholars ; the 
rest keep schools of their own. After some little talk, 
all agreed to give up their schools, and go to Mr. 
Alcott's. He explained the bearing of all his rules on 
their habits of mind and character; and they all ac- 
knowledged their propriety. 

He then said that he was going to read some pictures 
of what goes on in the mind during the period of its 
development oil earth, by means of the duties of life ; 

9 



130 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

but if one boy or gii'l interrupts me, said he, I shall 
stop ; and that boy or girl will bring a deprivation 
upon the whole school ; those who are innocent being 
obliged to suffer, as the good are always willing to do, 
for the instruction of the guilty. This remark elicited 
some doubts, which were settled by reference to Christ, 
and all martyrs and self-sacrificing philanthropists, who 
have made it their vocation on earth to seek and save, 
even if they suffer and die for the truth. 

At last, the " Faery Queene " was opened, and Mr. 
Alcott began: Goodness may be said to be at war 
with Wickedness ; and Spenser has pictured out Good- 
ness as a knight who goes forth into the world to com- 
bat with enemies. When I read about St. George, 
you may understand that he represents Goodness ; his 
enemies are the. enemies of Goodness. I shall first read 
about St. George's combating with Error, one of the 
first enemies that Goodness meets with in the world. 

He then read or rather paraj^hrased the description 
of Una, and told them that she represented Truth. 
She " inly mourned " because Wickedness and Error 
existed ; she was " in white," because Truth is pure, 
bright, and innocent. He read the account of the 
Wood of Error and the adventure in it, in a very free 
paraphrase, interweaving the explanation of the alle- 
gory. They listened with the • most intense interest, 
and could not help exclaiming, as they sympathized in 
the various turns of the battle. At the end of the 
battle he stopped, and asked them if he should go on ; 
and they all exclaimed, Go on, go on. He went on, 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 131 

and read of the meeting with Hypocrisy, up to the 
scene in the House of Sleep. When he had finished, 
he asked, What has this taught you ? One boy said. 
To resist eviL Mr. Alcott then went on to speak of 
the conflict of good and evil within themselves, and 
made individual applications which brought the subject 
home to each one's own experience. 

Jamiary ^^tli. — At the usual hour for spelling, he 
called on those that had not broken one rule about 
whispering to turn round. All turned but five. He 
commended the conscientiousness of these five in not 
turning round, but said that they were wrong in break- 
ing the rules. He then said to the rest that if any of 
them had turned without examining themselves, they 
had deceived, had injured their souls, and commenced 
the career of falsehood. He enlarged upon falsehood 
and its consequences, and at last two girls turned back. 
The rest remained firm ; and Mr. Alcott said he con- 
sidered these as his scholars, for they obeyed his rules. 
The others kept their own schools, and had their own 
rules, at least for to-day, and might keep their faces 
turned from him. He told the class to take their spell- 
ing-books ; and he called on several scholars to pro- 
nounce the words they had been studying, and they 
did so. He then spoke of pronunciation; its impor- 
tance. 

A long conversation ensued on the word hlush^ which 
each of the children illustrated by sentences ; and it 
was remarked, that the comparison which the soul 
makes of its own ideal with the actual, naturally pro- 



132 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

duces an excitement in tlie mind, which the body- 
expresses by a blush. 

The word brass being iUustrated by the sentence, 
" An impudent person is said to have brass," led to a 
still further illustration of the signs of mental delicacy. 

The word brave led to a long disquisition upon true 
and false courage ; during which a passage was read 
from '^ My Early Days." 

January SOth. — After the waiting lesson was over, 
and the children were all turned to listen, Mr. Alcott 
spoke of the duty of forming the habit of attention ; 
its usefulness in fitting them to be benefited by lectures, 
of which there were so many, and which were of so 
little use to most who heard them, on account of their 
want of power to attend. Then he desired them to 
think, as he asked a few questions, preparatory to the 
subject of the reading. 

What do you mean by birthday? said he. 

The day on which you are born, said one. What do 
you mean by being born? Coming into the world. 
What comes into the world ? A person. What is a 
person ? The body and mind of a child. Which comes 
into the world, body or mind ? Body. 

Birthday is the day on which the sj^irit is put into 
the body, said another boy. Did you get that idea in 
this school ? said Mr. Alcott. I never thou2:ht of such 
subjects before I came to this school, said h«. 

Birthday is the day when the soul and body meet 
together the first time, said another boy. It is the day 
when the soul takes the body and comes into the world, 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 133 

said a very small boy. Do you mean that the soul 
brings the body, or the body brings the soul? The 
soul brings the body. 

Another little boy said, The soul comes from heaven ; 
the day it comes is its birthday. 

A little girl here said she thought soul and body 
began on the same day. One of the boys added, that 
he had always had an indistinct idea that the soul lived 
before the body, that there was a transmigration of 
souls. A little boy said, God makes the body and soul 
separate, but at the same time, and puts them together 
afterwards. Mr. Alcott heard them all, and then said, 
Those who believe the soul lives before the body, hold 
up your hands. All did, except a few ; but some did 
not. Mr. Alcott asked those who did not, if they 
thought soul and body were made at the same minute. 
One said. Yes. The rest said they thought soul was- 
made first. 

Now go forth into the external world, said Mr. 
Alcott, and find some fact or appearance in the exter- 
nal world with which to picture out and tyj^ify birth. 
They were quite animated by this, and the following 
were the most striking analogies. One said. The seed 
sown, and springing up. What do you mean by the 
seed, body or sovd ? Both. Another said, The branches 
from the trunk. The soul is the trunk, and the branches 
the body. Another said, I should think the trunk was 
God, and the branches were the soul. Another said, 
The soul is a rose-bud putting forth leaves. Another 
said, God is a rock, and we are pieces broken off. 



134 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Violently? No, not violently. The next said, God 
is the water, and our souls are droj^s; he afterwards 
added, that God was the only real person, and we were 
jjictures of him. God is the ocean, and we are the 
rivers, said the next. Another said, God is a sower, 
and we are the seeds which he sows. Another boy 
said, The seed is God, and we are the fruit that springs 
out of it. Another said, God is the earth, and we are 
tlie productions. Another said, God is the Shepherd, 
and we are the sheep. Mr. Alcott said, That is Scrip- 
ture phraseology; but Jesus is generally called the 
Shepherd. One of the little girls said, God is the Sun, 
and Jesus Christ is the Moon, and we are stars. You 
mean, said Mr. Alcott, that Jesus is superior to us, and 
God is superior to all, and gives his light to Jesus? 
Yes. That is the best one of all, said the rest. I then 
remarked that I had lately heard our soul compared to 
a river of thoughts and feelings, pouring through us 
from God, the Eternal Fountain, and augmented in the 
course of our mortal life, by other rivers from the same 
source. 

Mr. Alcott allowed these analogies to run on, that 
they all might clearly understand the principle of meta- 
phor. At last he said. These are analogies, and many 
of them are good, but none are perfect ; for there is 
nothing in the vegetable or animal world which is quite 
adequate to typify the great fact of birth, the incarna- 
tion, or embodying of spirit. The internal eye sees 
this fiict; the external eye cannot see it. You have 
expressed by your analogies that the soul comes fi-om 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. I35 

God: do you think that when it first aj^pears in the 
human form, it is pure, innocent ? All lield up their 
hands. Do you think that those who have lived in the 
world awhile, that you, any of you, are as good as you 
w^ere when you were infants ? None thought so. So 
you think that you grow worse as you live on '^ They 
generally thought that they saw vice, and tried it, to see 
how it w^ould seem. One girl said. When we are babies 
we do not know. Mr. Alcott said, Is knowledge the 
cause of evil? Do you remember the beautiful illus- 
tration of the beginning of sin in the Old Testament, 
the tree of knowledge and the tree of life ; or the fruits 
of the head, and the fruits of the heart? One boy 
said, We are brought up to think the old do right, and 
w hen we see them do wrong, we think it is right, and 
imitate them. Is it irresistible to imitate the old ? said 
Mr. Alcott. They all said, No. He then read from the • 
" Boston Observer " the lines called a " Birthday Bless- 
ing," and said. These lines were written to a little boy, 
by the lady who keeps the Journal of our school. 

Thou spirit briglit ! though wishes only show 
How weak we are, how httle 'tis we know, 
My heart will wish that childhood's sacred power 
Could still prolong for thee its consecrating hour. 

Yet what is time 1 I know the spirit pure 
That breatlies in childhood's bosom may endure 
The shock of years ; and that its sunny eye 
Doth tell of that within which may refuse to die. 

For cliildhood's bosom is the poet's dream ; 
The soul undarkened yet by earth ; the gleam 



136 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Of light that was in paradise ; the tree 
Whose fruit is genius, power, and immortahty ! 

But ah ! how many turn aside and eat 

Tlie tree of death ! Unfortified to meet 

The giant-spirit of the earth, they die 

To all that makes life blest, beneath his withering eye ! 

Oh ! rush not thou so blindly into life, 

Nor ask too early for the giant strife ; 

Still dwell secure, while love and joy grow strong, 

'Mid childhood's trusting prayers, and sacred fear of wrong. 

'Tis thus the saint, the hero, and the sage, 

Preserve the unfallen man from age to age, 

With childhood's asking heart still looking up. 

Till He, the Source of Good, hath filled the o'erflowing cup. 

And hence the artist and the poet draw 
Their power to charm, to elevate, to awe ; 
Faithful to childhood's love and instincts, lo ! 
On beauty calling, paradise again doth glow ! 

And is it thus 1 And is the gifted eye 

The unfettered flow of pure humanity ? 

And doth the Eternal Beauty, Truth and Good, 

Thus o'er the fountain-head of soul forever brood ? 

Then ever be a child ! in this one prayer 

I ask for all the loftiest man can share ; 

The spirit free from custom's " frosty weight," 

And open to each thought that makes our being great. 

When he read the lines, — 



And doth the Eternal Beauty, Truth and Good, 
Thus o'er the fountain-head of soul forever brood "? • 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 137 

he stopped, and asked if tliey knew what that meant. 
They said, Yes, it means God, because the soul comes 
from him. Mr. Alcott then repeated Jesus Christ's 
remarks about his own origin, and about chihlhood ; 
and closed with reading the lines from Wordsworth 
beginning, — 

Our birth is but a sleep, and a forgetting. 

JTaimary Zlst. — Mr. Alcott chose for his readings 
from the Bible such passages as would bring up again 
and again the idea that Jesus considered childhood 
innocent, and that innocence is a positive condition; 
that it comprehends all the instincts and feelings which 
naturally tend to good, such as humility, self-forgetful- 
ness, love, trust, &c. ; and that the true method of self- 
cultivation is to retain these feelings or return to the 
childish state and reproduce them. He began : " And 
they brought to Jesus little children," and went on to 
the expression, " Of such is the kingdom of heaven," 
and through the story of the young man who lacked, 
and the parable of the laborers who all had a penny. 
He made some applications of this parable to those 
j^resent. Then he read the parables illustrating for- 
giveness, and asked how many had this S2}irit of for- 
giveness. Some held up their hands. Mr. Alcott went 
on to speak of forgiveness, and said, when they yielded 
in a quarrel, and forbore, they were not yielding to this 
or that boy, but to God; and when they fought with a 
fellow-being they were fighting against God. As this 
seemed to strike the children with astonishment, Mr. 



138 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Alcott referred to Jesus Christ's expression, " Inasmuch 
as ye do it unto the least of these little ones, ye do it 
unto me." He then read the account of Christ's en- 
trance into Jerusalem, and the expression, " Out of the 
mouths of babes and sucklings God hath perfected 
praise," which he explained to mean the innocent ex- 
pressions of pure childhood, in word and deed. 

Now, said he, I am going to read what will show how 
a child may be perverted ; and he read the story of the 
Pharisee and Publican (in paraphrase as usual), up to 
the place where Jesus said that, " whosoever will not 
receive the kingdom of heaven as a little child, shall 
not enter it." He then read the conversation with 
Nicodemus. 

After recess, I called a little boy to me, and asked 
him if he thought he had improved since he came here. 
He said. Yes. How ? do you think any more ? Why, 
I did not know I could think, before I came here! 
What did you do before, all the time ? I am sure I 
don't know. Mr. Alcott talked a little with one of the 
girls on her thoughtlessness, and on the duty of trying. 
After waiting nearly quarter of an hour for the boys, 
who seemed not to have heard the clock strike, Mr. 
Alcott began to read without them. He said he should 
not read one journal, it was so badly written. He 
began another, during which time the absent boys came 
in, having stayed out twenty minutes too long. 

At the commencement of the school, Mr. Alcott 
appointed the recess at half-past eleven, that the clock 
striking twelve might be the signal for return; and 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 139 

this he distinctly said to each scholar, as they were sent 
out, one by one, for their first recess. A lady, who 
came to place her son at school that day, expressed her 
astonishment at Mr. Alcott's confidence in such little 
boys' obedience, and said she was very sure her boy 
would not come in, if he were among them. When her 
boy came to school some weeks after, it is true that he 
did play truant frequently, not only at recess-time, but 
before school, and, in one or two instances, did not 
come to school at all. But none of the other scholars 
ever remained out five minutes after the clock struck, 
excepting, in one instance, a very imaginative boy from 
the country, who had just entered the school, wandered 
to the other side of the Common, with a little fellow 
of five years, and in this instance of to-day, when the 
boys declared that they did not hear the clock strike, 
being in Temple Court, instead of on the mall. Mr. 
Alcott, having entire confidence in their word, merely 
told them not to play in the court another day, at least 
without a sentinel to watch the clock. 

February 2d. — Mr. Alcott made remarks upon jour- 
nal writing, to the older boys, and upon the desirable- 
ness of education to those who were to wield the 
interests of the world by commerce. He came to a 
little boy, and said. Oh ! I am very much encouraged 
about you ; you have written a whole column of words ; 
you begin to know what you are in school for. 

He tlien took Ki'ummacher, to read a parable to the 
little class. He read the story of the Canary-bird, talk- 
ing with them, in his indescribable way, all the while. 



140 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

After this, he took the younger division of the spelling 
class, and heard them pronounce their lessons in spell- 
ing, and told them the meanings of the words. 

He told the rest of the class who had not broken any 
rule to turn round. All turned but two. Do any of 
you remember those words, " Set a watch upon thy 
heart"? Yes, said they. It does not mean to ^\\t a 
time-piece on your bodily heart, but to superintend your 
minds : have you j^ut a sentinel over yourself to-day ? 
What is the sentinel of the soul ? Conscience. If the 
sentinel sleeps, what becomes of the city ? The enemies 
get in, said a little boy. What is the enemy ? said Mr. 
Alcott. Error, said one ; Doubt, said another ; Passion, 
said a third; Revenge, said another; Self-will, said 
several. In one word. Wickedness, said Mr. Alcott. 
Now all those who do not set a Avatch on themselves, I 
shall consider as not desiring to be better. Do you 
remember these words in the Bible : " By patient con- 
tinuance in well-doing, seek" — for what? I don't 
remember, said the boy addressed. " Seek for glory, 
honor, and immortality," said a girl. How many of 
you have this patient continuance ? None spoke. 

Mr. Alcott remarked that one boy of this school had 
said, when asked why he did not answer Mr. Alcott's 
questions, Do you think I am going to speak before 
thirty children? As many of you as have this feeling 
of embarrassment" may hold up their hands. Several 
held up their hands ; and he spoke of the duty of mak- 
ing an effort to conquer this feeling, since it was im- 
possible for him to assist them in cultivating their 



.i* ^ • JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 141 

minds, unless they would show Inm the state of them. 
He then asked them to spell the words, which they 
did. 

The word hircJi led them to the consideration of 
school discipline. And they all spontaneously said that 
they had never been in a school where there was so 
much order, and so little punishment, as in this. Mr. 
Alcott asked them how they felt when he punished 
them ; and they said that they always felt he punished 
them for their own good, and not from anger. 

Something was said of hurting the body, as a means 
of reaching the mind ; and that, in some instances, boys 
needed bodily punishment to rouse their sluggishness 
of mind, because they would not attend to the mean- 
ings of words, and could not be reached by words that 
were intended to revive the conscience. Other boys 
needed it on account of their obstinacy and opposition.- 
There were rivers which were very strong, but would 
not go in the channel made for them by God, but 
wanted to make new channels; and there were some 
stagnant waters, and some shallow rivers which babbled. 
As he described these various rivers, the boys appro- 
priated to themselves and one another the various 
types; and Mr. Alcott confirmed some of these, as 
very just applications. 

February 3c?. — I did not come to school ; but when 
a little boy, who lived in the house with me, came 
home, he told me they wrote till ten o'clock. And then 
Mr. Alcott read about Christian, — how he came to the 
Cross, and his burden fell off into the sepulchre; and 



142 BECORD OF A SCIIOOL.^^ *# f^^Hg^ 

he said Mr. Alcott told of a procession, and proposed 
that they should all go in it, and bury their bad habits, 

— the bundles on their backs. (Mr. Alcott told me, 
this morning, that the subject of self-sacrifice was dis- 
cussed, when he brought Christian to the foot of the 
cross ; and it was under this principle of self-surrender 
that the imaginary procession was formed.) 

The little boy also told me that, after recess, Mr. 
Alcott described two words, and that the boys said one 
was heaven, and one was hell. (Mr. Alcott said that 
he described the world of spirit and the world of flesh, 
and the issues of these different principles, in an alle- 
gory; and that the children themselves came to the 
conclusions, and alone used those words.) This little 
boy also told me that Mr. Alcott said he could tell what 
shapes their minds would come forth in, if they could 
take shape ; and, said he, mine came out in the very 
thing that I have always wanted more than any thing 
else ; and he screamed with laughter, as he exclaimed, 
The very, very thing! Well, what was it? said his 
mother and I at the same moment. A sAVord, said he, 

— a sword to prick all the boys with ! Can you remem- 
ber the shape that any other soul came forth in ? said I. 
lie said two of the boys were to come forth as whis- 
pers ; but he did not remember the rest.' 

February ^th. — I arrived at quarter-past nine, and 
found them all writing their journals or their spelling 
lessons. At quarter of ten, Mr. Alcott began to read 
to the younger division of the spelling class, and to 
those of the youngest class who were present. ^ He read 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. I43 

a parable of Krummaclier to illustrate Indolence, which 
not only awakened their attention very strongly, but 
attracted the notice of many of the rest ; and he talked 
a little with a boy of the larger class, to enforce the 
lesson upon him. 

At ten o'clock, the class turned to spell. They all 
spelled well, until it came to one little boy, who missed. 
Mr. Alcott said, Do you know why you do not spell 
the words right ? The child looked inquiringly. It is 
because you do not use your eyes to see how the letters 
are j^laced ; and so you have no picture of the word in 
your mind. And he went on describing how he should 
look at the letters, picture them out, lay up the picture 
in his mind, and, when he heard the word, should think 
how one letter came after the other. He talked a great 
while ; and not only the one addressed, but all the little 
boys, seemed much interested and edified. The words 
were defined to these children, and then Mr. Alcott 
called the rest of the class to turn and spell. 

Birth was the first word. Mr. Alcott remarked that 
we had once before talked of birth, and their ideas had 
been brought out. Now I am going to speak of it 
again, and we shall read Wordsworth's ode. He then 
asked the youngest child present how old he was, and 
found he was four. The oldest was twelve. He said, 
That little boy, in four years, has not had time to make 
that comparison of thoughts and feelings which makes 
up conscious life. He asked those who understood him 
to hold up their hands. Several held up ,their hands. 
Those who do not understand these words may hold, up 



144 BECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

their hands. A great many of the younger ones held 
up their hands. 

I am not suri:>rised that you did not understand ; but 

perhaps you will understand some things I am going to 

say. Do you feel, said he to the oldest, that any change 

has taken place in you in twelve years ? do things seem 

the same to you as they did six years ago ? She recog- 

*-:ed a change. A boy of ten said that he did also. 

ordsworth had lived, when he wrote this ode, many 

ars, and consequently had felt changes, and he ex- 

?j-- esses this in the lines I am about to read. He then 

; : gan and read the first stanza : — 

There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, 

The earth and every common sight, 

To me did seem 

Apparelled in celestial light, 

The glory and the freshness of a dream. 

It is not now as it has heen of yore ; 

Turn wheresoe'er I may. 

By night or day, 

The things which I have seen I now can see no more 

He here stopped, and asked why Wordsworth could 
not see the things which he had seen before ; had they 
changed, or had he changed ? He had changed, said a 
boy of ten. Have you had any degree of this change ? 
Yes, and more in this last year than in all my life 
before. 

He then said. But let us all look back six months ; 
how many of you look at things, and feel about them, 
differently f»om what you did six months ago ? How 
many of you feel that this school-room is a different 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 145 

place from what it was the first week you were here ? 
Ahnost every one immediately, with great animation, 
held up his hand. He then asked those who knew why 
this was, to hold up their hands. Many did. And 
when called on to answer, they severally said. Because 
we know more, because we think more, because we 
understand you, because you know us, because you have 
looked inside of us. Mr. Alcott said, The place is 
very different to me; and why? They gave similar 
answers ; but he said they had not hit it. At last one 
said. Because we behave better. Yes, said he, you have 
it now; knowledge is chaff" of itself; but you have 
taken the knowledge and used it to govern yourselves, 
and to make yourselves better. If I thought I gave 
you knowledge only, and could not lead you to use it 
to make yourselves better, I would never enter this 
school-room again. 

He went on and read the next stanza of the ode : — 

The rainbow comes and goes, 

And lovely is the rose, 

Tlie moon doth with delight 
Look round her when the heavens are bare. 

Waters on a starry night 
Are beautiful and fair. 

The sunshine is a glorious birth ; 
But yet I know, where'er I go, 

That there hath passed away a glory from the earth ; — 

stopping to ask them about the effects of the rainbow, 
the rose, the waters on a starry night, on themselves ; 
remarking. There are some minds which live in the 
world, and yet are insensible ; which do not see any 

10 



146 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

beauty in the rainbow, the moon, the waters on a starry- 
night. As he went on through the next stanza, so 
descriptive of the animation and beauty of spring, he 
paused on every line, and asked questions. Why are 
"the cataracts said to blow their trumpets"? A little 
girl said. Because the waters dash against the rocks. 
" The echoes thronging through the woods " led out to 
recollections of the sound in the woods in sj^ring ; to 
echoes which they had severally heard. As the animating 
pictures of " children pulling flowers on May-day," the 
" child S2:)ringing up on the mother's arm," &c., came 
up, every countenance expressed the most vivid delight ; 
and one girl exclaimed. What a succession of beautiful 
pictures! All full of life, said Mr. Alcott; and he 
went on : — 

But there's a tree of many one, 
A single field wliich I have looked upon ; 
Both of them speak of sometliing that is gone : 
The pansy at my feet 
Doth the same tale repeat : 
Whither is fled the visionary gleam ? 
"Where is it now, the glory and the dream ? 

When he had read these lines, he said, Was that a 
thought of life ? No, a thought of death, said several. 
Yes, said Mr. Alcott, Wordsworth had lived long 
enough to feel changes: he had kno^\Ti death, as well 
as life. He then went on — 

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting, — 

and stopped and asked how that was. After a pause, 
one of the most intelligent boys, eight years old, said 



JOURNAL' OF THE SCHOOL. I47 

he could not imagine. The two oldest girls said they 
understood it, but could not explain it in words. Do 
you understand it ? said Mr. Alcott to a little boy of five 
who was holding up his hand. Yes. Well, what does 
it mean ? Why, you know, said he very deliberately, 
that, for all that our life seems so long to us, it is a very 
short time to God ; and so when we die it seems all a 
sleep to God. He repeated this at Mr. Alcott's request, 
and I said to him, So Mr. Wordsworth was thinking of 
God, and how God felt, on seeing that a child was born 
into the world? He paused, looked a little confused, 
and repeated the word forgetting, I said, Wait, and 
tell me your thought. Why, you know, said he, God 
knows us, but we don't. He looked at me with a look 
of doubt, whether I should understand him. And our 
knowledge of ourselves, in comparison with what God 
knows about us, said I, seems like forgetfulness itself? 
Yes, said he, that is it (with a cleared uj) countenance). 
All the rest listened with interest and an expression of 
great pleasure ; and then one girl said. The soul comes 
from heaven ; it goes to sleep in that world, and wakes 
up in this. Mr. Alcott then read on to the line — 

Heaven lies about us in our infancy, 

when he shut up the book, and asked every child sepa- 
rately what he understood by birth. They all answered ; 
and many repeated the definitions which they gave the 
other day. When they had answered all round, Mr. 
Alcott observed that there was one striking difierence 
in their answers; some expressed the idea that the 



148 BECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

soul shaped and made the body ; others that the body- 
was made, and the soul put into it. Which is right ? 
said one boy. That is more than I can tell, but I in- 
cline to the first opinion. You are all nearly right, 
however ; you have the important ideas ; birth is not 
the beginning of the sj^irit ; life is the remembrance, or 
a waking up of spirit. All the life of knowledge is the 
waking up of what is already within, — 

The rising of life's star, that had elsewhere its setting. 

What is life's star ? The soul, said they. But birth is 
sometimes the prelude to the death of the soul, said 
Mr. Alcott. How? said one boy. Because the soul 
becomes the slave of the body; is governed, dark- 
ened, shut up, and buried in it; and it is necessary 
that it should be born again, bom out of the body; 
do you understand that? Yes. Some of you have 
needed to be born again into your new life, said Mr. 
Alcott. Then he asked. Do you know what pulp 
means ? Several said, Yes. Mr. Alcott continued. It 
is the part of the fruit round the seed; and its use is to 
cherish the seed, and give it life, and make it fit to be- 
come the beginning of a new tree or plant. Well, do 
you understand my figure when I say, that the body is 
a pulp, and that its use is to cherish and protect the 
spiritual seed ? Many of them said. Yes. Well, suppose 
that we take the seed of a plant, and put it in the 
ground ; what happens to it ? They were silent, and he 
added : It bursts, and some parts shoot down into the 
earth, and some parts shoot up towards the light. Now 



JOURNAL OF TEE SCHOOL. I49 

can you understand this, — that the soul is a seed placed 
in the midst of the worhl, represented by the ground; and 
that the shoots which go down into the earth, to fasten 
the phmt in the earth awhile, are the bodily feelings and 
appetites ; — and that the shoots which go upward towards 
the light, are the affections and better feelings that seek 
Heaven ? They said, Yes. Well, suppose that more of 
the seed shoots downward than is necessary ; and that no 
shoots go uj^w^ard ; would there be any flower and fruit ? 
No. It would all be root ; all would be under the earth. 
Well, can you understand that if the soul loves the 
body only, and only uses its animal appetites, and does 
not seek the light and Heaven, it will have no beauty 
nor fruit ; but w411 be an earthly, dark thing, a root ? 
Yes, they understood that. Well, said he, now you 
know w^hy I wish to check your animal appetites ; your 
love of the body, when that interferes wdth the mind's 
growth. It is right to love your body in a degree ; — • 
the body has its uses ; but it is one thing to take care 
of your body and another to indulge it. The phmt 
must have root enough to make it stand steady in the 
earth ; but that is enough. 

February bth. — I arrived at half-past nine, and found 
the children in their seats. Mr. Alcott talked a little 
wdth the little commentator of yesterday, commending 
him for his writing, and especially because he had been 
rather indocile, not through opposition, but from a sort 
of obstinate clinging to his own inward thoughts, which 
are probably clearer than those of most children of his 



150 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Mr. Alcott read from Northcotes' Fables to tlie little 
class, and had a long talk with them on Punishment, 
to make them comprehend its theory, the hurting of 
the body for the benefit of the mind ; and their faces 
looked all "like fires new sth-red," as they hstened. 
I thought I should like to have some of those skeptics 
who do not believe children can comprehend the sacri- 
fice of the body to the mind, to have seen these little 
things, under four years of age, listen to and apprehend 
the philosophy of pain. 

At ten the whole school turned to face Mr. Alcott ; 
and he then arranged some restless boys in situations 
where he thought they would not be tempted. A great 
deal of talk was made about these arrangements, in 
order to impress them with the great importance of 
complete self-control. Mr. Alcott said that, if inter- 
rupted to-day, he should discontinue his readings. 

He then read the first stanzas of the "Castle of 
Indolence," without letting them know what it was, 
and asked each to write on his slate what he thought it 
represented. They severally wrote: Sluggishness — 
Calm Pleasures — Sleep — Ease — Heaven — Doubt — 
Death — Earth — The World — and Deception. Mr. 
Alcott having gone round, and looked at each, told 
them each to keep their own secret ; and he read it 
again. Several changed their opinions, and there were 
added new answers : Idleness — Pleasures — Sleepi- 
ness — Solitude — Laziness — Silence — Deceit — 
Misers — Slumber — Hell — Doubting Castle — and 
several said Indolence. 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 151 

Mr. Alcott then read the " Song of the Wizard," and 
asked, who beheved, with the wizard, that hard work 
makes all the vice in the world. A large, lazy boy held 
up his hand ; but a little boy of six made a gesture of 
astonishment at his doing so. When Mr. Alcott read 
the Invitation, he asked who would accept it? Some 
smiled and held up their hands. He read through the 
description of the interior of the castle, and the Mirror 
of Vanity ; and when he stopped, said, As many of you as 
think you ever visited this castle, hold up your hands. 
Thirteen held up their hands. How many of you delight 
to rise at break of day, cold mornings? Almost all held 
up their hands. This room, he continued, is often the 
Castle of Indolence ; and he pointed to several chairs, 
saying of each. That is a Castle of Indolence. 

After recess, the younger children found their arith- 
metic all prepared for them. The rest found their 
Commonplace Books in their places; and "The 
American Flag " was selected, by one of the boys, for 
the lesson. Mr. Alcott asked him to read the part he 
liked best, and he read the stanzas following : — 



Flag of the brave, thy folds shall fly, 
The sign of hope and triumph, high. 
When speaks the signal trumpet-tone, 
And the long line conies gleaming on, 
(Ere yet the life-blood, warm and wet. 
Has dimmed the glistening bayonet,) 
Each soldier's eye shall brightly turn 
To where thy meteor glories burn, 
And, as his springing steps advance. 
Catch war and vengeance from the glance ; 



152 RECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

And, when the cannon-mouthings loud 
Heave, in wild wreaths, the battle shroud. 
And gory sabres rise and fall, 
Like shoots of flame on midnight's pall, 
There shall thy victor-glances glow, 
And cowering foes shall sink beneath 
Each gallant arm that strikes below 
That lovely messenger of death. 

riag of the seas, on ocean's wave 
Thy stars shall gUtter o'er the brave. 
When death, careering on the gale. 
Sweeps darkly round the belUed sail, 
And frightened waves rush wildly back 
Before the broadside's reehng rack. 
The dying wanderer of the sea 
Shall look at once to heaven and thee, 
And smile to see thy splendors fly 
In triumph o'er his closing eye. 

Flag of the free heart's only home, 
By angel-hands to valor given. 
Thy stars have lit the welkin dome, 
And all thy hues were born in heaven. 
Forever float that standard sheet ! 
Where breathes the foe, but falls before us, 
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet, 
And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us ? 

When lie had read these stanzas, Mr. Alcott asked 
one of the rest if he knew why that boy liked those 
stanzas so much. The boy addressed said it was be- 
cause he had such a temper, he hked to have things 
in his own way. Another said, because he liked bat- 
tling and violence. The boy himself said it was because 
he liked his country ; and he read over again the most 
warlike lines of the piece. The girls all laughed as 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 153 

he read the words " war and vengeance " with so much 
cvusto. Mr. Alcott said, Well, he is very ingenuous; 
he turns out himself before us ; he loves vengeance, war, 
slaughter, don't he ? Yes, said he. Do you ever thmk 
of the sufferers? Sometimes I think of the widows. 
Which do you think of most, the soldiers or the 
widows? About the same. I am sorry; but I hope 
you will think of the widows most, by and by. Mr. 
Alcott then read the same stanzas very slowly, and 
stopped and asked questions about every line. What 
is the image here ? What feeling does it gratify ? One 
boy said. Did you hear Dr. Channing's sermon,* sir? 
No ; but I know what he thinks. I am glad you re- 
member it. A little girl said, I did not hear it ! (very 
despondingly.) Mr. Alcott then spoke of the right of 
selt-defence and of defensive war; and there was qmte 
a discussion, which resulted, I thought, in very just 
views all round. One boy, on being asked, said there 
was nothing in the piece which pictured out any of 
his thoughts and feelings. But at last he read the last 
stanza, as the one he liked best on the whole. 

Mr. Alcott then asked. What is freedom? does it 
give us the right to do as we please? No. What is 
it? the opportunity for what? He did not know. Is 
it the right to do right, or to do either right or wrong ? 
To do light. The boy who had selected the piece said 
it was, besides, the right to speak one's own mind. 
Mr. Alcott said. What! carelessly, whether it will do 
good or harm? At first he said. Yes ; then, No. An- 
* Sermon on War. 



154 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

other boy said, We have no right to do as we please, 
unless we please to do right. The girls agreed with 
him. Mr. Alcott then told the boy who had selected 
the piece that his difficulties at home and at school 
arose from his confounding the ideas of freedom and 
indulgence. He then spoke of law as the guardian of 
freedom, and the laws of this school as emanating fi'om 
conscience. 

One boy, on being asked which stanza he liked best, 
said he saw very little in the whole thing ; he never 
wanted to be a soldier. The boy who had selected the 
piece said he wanted to be a soldier ; he wanted to ride 
on horseback, and be dressed up in uniform. It would 
not be so pleasant to ride unless he could be dressed 
\x\) in uniform. Another boy wanted to be a king. As 
this ode hardly admitted of a paraphrase, having few 
ideas in it, or the little charm they had being in the 
words, Mr. Alcott said they might go and write their 
journals while he heard the arithmetic lessons. 

February Qth. — I arrived at half past nine, and 
found them at their spelling lessons, as usual. Imme- 
diately Mr. Alcott commenced with the youngest class, 
and read about Frank's breaking the window. He 
made a very animated lesson on ingenuousness, by a 
conversation intermingled with the reading; which, as 
usual, led them to the conclusion that they should pre- 
fer punishment to going on in wrong-doing. 

This is the great principle which Mr. Alcott labors 
to bring out in the young consciousness, to be willing 
to be punished, to accept punishment, in order that 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. I55 

they may not indulge themselves in wrong-doing, and 
to look upon pain as the instrument of producing good 
character. His own little girl is led to tell him of the 
naughty things she does ; and the telling does not save 
her from chastisement, but often only ensures it. Even 
the scholars here often tell him what will produce pun- 
ishment, knowing that their ingenuousness does not save 
them from the penalty, so successful has he been in 
making them feel that spiritual good is worth depri- 
vation, or bodily pain, or whatever the j^^nishment 
may be. 

Mr. Alcott then took the youngest class but one, and 
heard them spell their lesson, giving a great deal of 
time to that little boy whose deep interest in the gen- 
eral mak^ it a peculiar eflbrt for him to enter into 
the details of the particular. It is really very curious 
to see, on the one hand, how difficult it is for this child 
to receive a strong impression from any outward arbi- 
trary thing, like a letter, or the arrangement of letters ; 
and, on the other hand, how rapidly and completely 
his mind discovers the idea conveyed by a poetical 
image or a natural fict. Nature seems transj^arent to 
his eye ; but it is for him an effort of abstraction to see 
the outward and arbitrary. 

The lesson was spelled, and the younger division 
were asked if they received new ideas while we talked 
about the words. After a while, one after another held 
up their hands. One little boy said he understood Mr. 
Alcott when he spoke to himself, but not always when 
he talked to others. Mr. Alcott asked him whose 



156 RECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

words he understood best. He said, Mother's and 
father's and Mr. Alcott's. Mr. Alcott said, Do we all 
talk about the same things ? No, said he ; mother talks 
about things out, and you about things inside ; and he 
touched his head to express the inside. 

Mr. Alcott then said, I am thinking of a dreadful 
law. What if all boys found in a lazy position, with 
things in their hands, or inattentive, were to receive a 
blow upon the hand ? A large boy said that would not 
be just. Mr. Alcott asked him if it was not just that 
he should punish a certain boy (naming him), if he did 
what would interfere with his own attention and the 
attention of others. Yes, but not so. Mr. Alcott 
asked if he had not a right to choose his own modes of 
reaching the mind ; and when words did not^do, and a 
slight pain on the body did do, if he had not a right, 
if it was not his duty, to take that means. The boy 
said, Any other way but that. Mr. Alcott asked the 
rest if they thought it would be just to punish them as 
he proposed, if they did what he had spoken of, and 
indulged themselves in these habits after so much 
instruction as they had had. Every one held up his 
hand but this boy, who has a horror of physical pain, 
which is peculiar. I said to him, I cannot conceive 
why you should think that it is so dreadful to have a 
touch of pain on your body, that you can one moment 
weigh with it your improvement of mind ; I should 
prefer to be beaten like a West Indian slave to resting 
in a bad habit. One of the girls said, I should be very 
glad to be whipped, if it would cure me of my bad 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 157 

habits. Mr. Alcott asked those who would willingly 
receive a good deal of bodily pain from him if it would 
rid them of these habits of inattention and self-indul- 
gence, which interfere with us every day, to hold up 
their hands. All, except one little boy and the great 
boy spoken of before, held up hands. 

The uses of pain, in developing the mind and awak- 
ening sympathy, were considered ; and a comparison of 
the external and internal world was made. And Mr. 
Alcott said his little girl came to him, the other day, 
and said that her sister had pulled her hair and pinched 
her cheek. Now, her sister was a boisterous child, who 
inflicted pain thoughtlessly; and he called the little 
girl (knowing that it was as Anna had said) and said, 
« Sister says you pulled her hair so (and he gave her a 
hard pull), and that you pinched her cheek so" (and 
he gave her a hard pinch, but did not look at her any 
differently from usual). He said that she immediately 
understood how her sister had been hurt; and sym- 
pathy arose in her mind ; and she spontaneously went 
and kissed her. Do you think it was worth while 
that I should give her pain, to bring out that sym- 
pathy, or let her mind go uncultivated, because I 
was afraid of hurting her body? The result of the 
conversation seemed to be a universal agreement with 
Mr. Alcott. 

The first interesting word that was illustrated to-day 
was bleed. One boy said. The heart bleeds when it has 
suffering. Mr. Alcott said that these figurative, or 
rather he would say spiritual meanings, were the most 



158 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

real ; the literal meaning was the real meaning in 
things ; but nothing happened in things which did not 
image forth some movement of spiritual life. 

The word bloid was variously illustrated and defined. 
One little boy of five years old said, When a thing is 
made of one substance, and when we want it to be of 
a different color, some other substance is }^\x.t over, 
and then the two are said to be blended. Mr. Alcott 
said, This boy's definitions are from his own mint; 
and then he explained this figure, by describing a 
mint. 

Blind led to the idea of spiritual blindness. Mr. Al- 
cott said, Some of you, when you first came to this 
school, were spiritually blind ; some are here now who 
are sj^iritually blind ; their outward eye is a very good 
one, but they do not seem to look inward. The spirit- 
ual eye is the soul itself; and he quoted Byron's words: 
"A thing of eyes," &c. He spoke of the causes of 
spiritual blindness. He said the reason that boy with 
whom he had just been talking could not understand 
the theory of punishment was because his soul was 
blinded by the jDredominance of bodily fear, and out- 
ward things occupied his thoughts. 

A great deal was said about the uses of the bodily 
eye ; the cultivation of it connected with a parallel ad- 
vancement of spiritual vision ; and the reciprocal influ- 
ences of bodily and sj^iritual vision on each other, and 
on the advancement of the mind and soul. 

At last he called for the slates of the superintendents, 
for there had been two. On one there was only the 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 159 

superintendent's own name ; tlic other had several 
names, which were explained; and the boy had evi- 
dently been very careful to do justice. None thought 
he had been unjust. Mr. Alcott said what was set 
down did not warrant any punishment ; they had all 
tried, and had succeeded in being self-controlled and 
attentive. Before he said this, however, and while they 
were expecting punishment, a little boy said, I spoke, 
but he has not written me down. Mr. Alcott said, 
You are right to tell me. 

After recess, I took my scholars into the other room. 
When they came back, Mr. Alcott asked who had been 
faulty; and several held up their hands. Mr. Alcott 
asked one of these what he had done. Played. Why ? 
He did not know. At last he said he was thoughtless. 
Why ? He did not know. 

Mr. Alcott took him from his seat, and led him to 
the little boy who gives such spiritual answers, and 
said. Ask that little boy how you can learn to think? 
The little boy said, with his usual slow enunciation, 
and selt-involved look. Oh! he must employ all his 
thoughts. Well, said Mr. Alcott, that is very good 
advice. But I don't know how, said the boy. He 
doesn't know how, said Mr. Alcott to the child, who 
replied with a great eifort to get out the words. Why, 
then he must set his heart to work. Very well, said 
Mr. Alcott ; you must set your heart to work, and em- 
ploy all your thouglits ; and then you will not play 
when you ought to be doing something else. 

1 found Mr. Alcott had given a writing lesson on the 



160 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

black tablets to the rest of the school, while I had had 
my Latin class in the other room. 

February 1th. — I came and looked over my Journal 
before the reading commenced, as it is to be read after 
recess. 

Now, said Mr. Alcott, I am going to ask all a question, 
of which you must think before you answer. What 
do you love best ? God ! said the first one addressed, 
without any hesitation. Mr. Alcott said, I should like 
a more deliberate and particular answer, and I will put 
the question in another form. Do you love any being 
or thing as well as yourself? Yes, said he. Do you 
love any being or thing better than yourself ? I do not 
know. The next said he thought he loved God best, 
better than his mother, better than himself. All the 
most thoughtless boys were very sure they loved God 
best ; and also one or two of the most thoughtful. One 
little boy at first could not tell. At last he said he 
thought it was his mother. Another little boy said 
he loved his uncle Charles best. Why ? He did not 
want to tell. Do you love him because he is good, 
or because he loves you, or because he has given you 
any tiling? Because he is good. Did he ever give 
you any thing ? Yes. Has he given you any thing 
lately? No, he is in England. The next little boy 
said he loved God best, Jesus Christ next, and his 
mother next. Why do you love your mother? Be- 
cause she takes care of me. Why do you love Jesus 
Christ ? Because he is holy. [Mr. Alcott did not hear, 
and the second time he said, Because he is good.] 



JOUBNAL OF TEE SCHOOL. 161 

Why do you love God? Because be is good. Do 
you love yourself? Not one grain. Don't you love 
your mind ? That is not myself. What is yourself ? 
My body. Don't you love it ? No. Don't you love 
to feed it ? Yes ! said he, slowly, with surprise at this 
home question. Do you love to feed it more than you 
ought to do ? Yes, said he, with a sigh, and a look of 
deep reflection. 

There were no more new ideas given. I intimated 
that I thought many bad answered as if the question 
was, What ought you to love best ? which produced a 
few remarks from Mr. Alcott, 

February 12th. — Mr. Alcott read from Krumma- 
cher, " The Birth of the Caterpillar." 

What is in your mind ? said he, to a boy of eight 
years old, as soon as he had finished. I cannot express 
it, he replied. Is it a thought, or a feeling ? Both : it 
is a belief. What have you learned from this story ? 
said Mr. Alcott to another boy of the same age. It 
reminds me that when the body dies, the soul will live, 
and go to heaven. How long have you had that 
thought? Ever since I was four years old. Do you 
remember the time when you did not have it? Yes, 
when I was very little, I thought we did not live after 
our bodies died. Another boy of the same age said he 
never remembered the time when he did not believe in 
life's going on. Do all believe without a shadow o^ 
doubt that they shall live after death has taken place ? 
I believe it, said a boy of nine, but not without a 
shadow of doubt. A boy of six said. When we die, an 

11 



162 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

angel comes fi'om heaven, and takes us, — the shell and 
all. What is the shell? said Mr. Alcott. The body, 
said another child of the same age. Do you want to 
stay in your bodies awhile? Yes, said both, with a 
smile. Wliat did you think while I was reading this 
story ? said Mr. Alcott to a thoughtful little boy of five. 
I thought God changed the caterpillar into a butterfly, 
and then there was an angel that went in, and ascended 
hito heaven, and when it got to heaven the butterfly's 
body fell again to the earth. But where did the butter- 
fly come from? God changed the caterpillar into a 
butterfly ; the body of the caterpillar was changed into 
the form of a butterfly. Who made the caterpillar? 
God. What did God make it of ? He made it out of 
dust. Nothing but dust ? Nothing but dust. When 
did the angel go into the butterfly ? When it began to 
move. Where did the angel come from? I did not 
think, — I must stop to think, said he. In a minute he 
went on. The angel must have been in the worm, — 
some of it. Where did the angel come from ? God 
sent it. Did the angel help to make the caterpillar 
into a -butterfly ? No ; but God made the body of the 
caterpillar into the body of a butterfly, and covered 
over the angel with it. You see it was not a real but- 
terfly, but it seemed so to the eyes. It was made to 
carry the angel up to heaven with its wings. Do you 
think every butterfly has an angel in it, like that one ? 
Oh, no ! Well, how came it to be so, that particular 
time ? Why, God wanted to show Adam and all of 
them an angel going to heaven, and he could not do it 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 163 

without something for their eyes. Why did he want 
to show them an angel going to heaven ? Oh ! so that 
they need not mourn any longer for their brother Abel. 
I think, said I, that God means to put us in mind of 
the soul's going to heaven by every butterfly that he 
makes. Do youf said he very slowly, his thoughtful 
countenance lighting up into a bright smile. (Is not 
that a mind in the kingdom? said Mr. Alcott to me, 
after this conversation was over.) What does this 
story bring to your mind ? said he to a girl of twelve. 
The life of the senses, the change of death, and immor- 
tality. In the Bible some one says, I die daily : do you 
understand that? Yes: it means you daily go more 
and more away from the senses, into the inward life. 

And here I will give the record that I made of one 
of the reading lessons of the first class. It was " An 
address to a dying child," in the Commonplace Book 
of Poetry, and selected by one of the class, eight years 
old, who began with reading it all through. 

Which verse do you like best ? said Mr. Alcott. The 
boy read, — 

Yes, thou art going home, 
Our Father's face to see. 

I like those lines very much. Why? What sentiment 
do they awaken ? The pleasure of seeing God ; dying 
and going up to stay with God. Have you never seen 
God here ? Yes, in one way ; but I like to think of 
dying and going up to God. Which way do you sup- 
pose is xip f Up is by the sun, — higher than the sun. 



164: RECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

Do the people on the other side of this round earth say 
u}:)? This led to considerations on the illusions of the 
senses, and what that idea was which was signified by 
this emblem of place. The idea seemed to be gained ; 
and the boy para23hrased the lines thus : — 

You are going within yourself, 

Your Father's face to see through your own spirit. 

Do you know, said Mr. Alcott, you never would have 
seen the outward world, except by first going within 
yourself? After a long pause of thought, the boy 
replied, Yes, I see how it is. Why is it said. Father's 
face f I don't know why they say face. What do 
you see in any person's face ? The mind, the expres- 
sion of the soul, said he, after some hesitation. And if 
God expresses himself in any way to us, when we go 
inward, and think over our own faculties and feelings, 
which are his expressions of love to us, is it not very 
natural to say we have seen his face f Yes. I cannot 
help thinking God has a real face, said another boy of 
the same age. Can you think of your own spirit with- 
out thinking of a fiice ? Yes. Then why not of God's 
sj^irit? I can. Do you think you see more of your 
brother, when you see his body with your eyes, or think 
about him in your mind ? said Mr. Alcott to the reader. 
I realize him when I think of him, sometimes more than 
when I am looking at him. 

Each of the class then read the verse that they liked 
best. One boy, who had been punished considerably 
since he came to school, read the verse beginning, — 



JOURNAL OF THE SCHOOL. 165 

O Father of our spirits, 
We can but look to thee ; 
Though chastened, not forsaken, 
Shall we thy children be, &c. 

What is meant by chastened ? said Mr. Alcott. Pun- 
ished, discipUned. Can one be punished and not for- 
saken? Yes. Did you not think, when I first punished 
you, that I hated you ? Yes. You thought I forsook 
you ? Yes. Do you think so now ? I have not thought 
so for a great while. You understand now that it was 
just the contrary of forsaking and hating you, to punish 
you? Yes. It was you that forsook me, and not I 
that forsook you ? Yes. Read the last two lines. 

Teach us to say, with Jesus, 
Thy will, not ours, be done. 

What do these lines express? Self-sacrifice, self-sur- 
render. One of the girls read the third verse as the 
most beautiful. 

Soon shall thy bright young spirit 
From earth's cold chains be free, &c 

What does it express? Liberty, said one. Blessed- 
ness, said several. What was the leading idea of the 
first verse? The expression of the eye; the ai3pear- 
ances of death; it is descriptive; picturesque, — were 
the several answers. What is the idea of the second 
verse ? The pains and pleasures of this earth, said one. 
Cannot you express it in one word ? This life, said he, 
after a pause. What is the object of this life? said Mr. 
Alcott. To make us better ; to try us. Oh 1 the idea 



166 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

of this verse is tlie trials of life. What is the idea of 
the fourth verse ? It comj^ares heaven and earth, said 
one. What of the last ? Devotion, faith, said a boy 
of ten. Well, said Mr. Alcott. Death, human life, 
heaven, a comparison of the two, and the principle by 
which we rise from the human to the heavenly life, — 
this is a beautiful range of thought, is it not ? Beau- 
tiful, said several. They were then sent to thek seats 
to write a paraphrase. 



III. 

BELF-ANALYSIS. 

T HAVE now given about five weeks of the Journal. 
■*- But before quite dismissing it, I will give some far- 
ther extracts, comj) rising a weekly exercise, which was 
suggested' by the following conversation, on the 9th 
of February. 

The word hless came up among the words of the 
spelling lesson. It was defined as wishing well to 
others; wishing God's blessing; making happy. Mr. 
Alcott asked if any one felt he comprehended all its 
meaning. No hands were raised, and a small boy said, 
Mr. Alcott, I do not believe you comprehend all its 
meaning yourself Mr. Alcott asked what blessings 
God gives. They answered severally, food, sun, air, 
clothing, dwellings, flowers, wisdom, our souls, parents. 
Do we have blessings whether we deserve them or 
not? Some said, Yes; some said, N'o. But there is 
one blessing greater than all you have mentioned. 
They severally answered, after some consideration, 
Spirit ; God's Spirit ; the Bible. 

The Bible, said Mr. Alcott, is God in words. But 
the Bible is not the only Revelation of God. There 
are many Bibles, to those who think. Nature, the 
outward world, is a Bible. Its objects typify God's 
thoughts. The soul is a Bible. What do we read in 



168 BEGOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

the passions ? I will tell you : God's punishments ; for 
the passions are the over-mastering effects of indulgence. 
What tremendous pains they involve, by necessity ! 

But what blessings have you had ? He addressed a 
boy, who thinks little, but who catches the habit of 
answering. He replied, The Bible. How is that a 
blessing? said Mr. Alcott. The Lord blesses us with 
it, said he. In what way? He makes us happy. With 
the Bible ? He makes us good. Your answers do not 
sound as if they were your own reflections, but like 
parrotry. Tell me what blessings you have been 
blessed with to-day. With a mind. Are you thought- 
less? said I (referring to a confession or excuse he 
always makes, when he has done wrong). Yes. But 
does not thoughtless mean without thoughts? Yes. 
Can there be a mind without thoughts ? No. Then 
how can you say your mind is a blessing to you ? I 
have been baptized, said he. How is that a blessing? 
It purified me. Are you pure, purified ? I was for a 
little while after I was baptized. Was your soul or 
your body baptized ? My body. Does not purity belong 
to the mind? Yes. Do truth and love keep the mind 
pure ? Do you understand what I mean, when I say, 
the soul is baptized with truth and love ? Yes. Was 
your soul ever baptized so ? Yes. How often? Every 
day. How long does it last ? A little while. 

All these answers seemed given without thought ; 
and' Mr. Alcott pursued it still farther, his object being 
to show this fancifully worded boy that he had no self- 
knowledge ; and that his ideas were not representations 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 169 

of his own thoughts and feelings, but mere verbal asso- 
ciations and meaningless images. This boy's memorjr 
of words and images, which has been over-cultivated, 
is great ; and he seems to have been led into a shallow 
activity of mind and tongue, that deceives himself. I 
thought he was enlightened a little to-day; and the 
rest of the scholars, who were very attentive, and oc- 
casionally joined in the conversation with much intelli- 
gence, evidently understood his mind very well, and 
were guarded against the same flxllacy. 

Mr. Alcott here opened the Bible, and read the 
beatitudes in paraphrase, thus : — 

Blessed, inconceivably happy, are those who feel as 
if they were without any thing ; for such are prepared 
to receive heaven. 

Blessed are they that mourn ; for comfort comes to 
the mourner that otliers cannot understand. 

Blessed are they that desire goodness more than any 
thing else ; for they shall be filled with it. 

Blessed are they that are kind and merciful ; for they 
will not be in danger of being cruelly treated. 

Blessed are those who are pure, and have no wrong 
aifections or false thoughts ; for they see God, his good- 
ness, excellence, love, and truth. 

Blessed are they who suffer in order to do right ; for 
they already have heaven. 

We began with our own definitions of bless^ said he ; 
and now you have heard Jesus Christ's definitions : do 
you understand, now, what bless, blessed, means ? They 
all held up their hands. 



170 



RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 



When they returned to the school-room after recess, 
Mr. Alcott said, Such of you as gained some clearer 
ideas than you had before of one boy's mind this morn- 
ing, hold up your hands. The older ones all did. Mr. 
Alcott here explained the difference between fancy and 
imagination, and asked which principle was in greatest 
activity in the mind of that boy. They replied, Fancy. 
What boy has an opj^osite kind of mind ? Several were 
named. One of them, Mr. Alcott said, was literal. 
Two of them, he also said, had a very high degree of 
imagination. One had fimcy and imagination also. 
Some farther questions Avere asked, wdiich proved how 
truly children analyze each other's minds, wdien brought 
to attend to them ; and it occurred to Mr. Alcott that 
there might be a regular lesson, the object of which 
would be to analyze individual characters, by means of 
certain testing questions: and this he carried into 
effect, although, practically, it became, instead of an 
analysis of individual character, an analysis of human 
nature in its more general point of view. 

In pursuance of this plan, the next day Mr. Alcott 
arranged all the children in two semicircles around 
his blackboard, which was divided into compartments, 
thus : — 



Spirit. 


Soul. 


Mind. 


Love. 1 Faith. | Conscience. 


Appetite. | Affection. 
Aspii-atioa. 


Imagination. | Judgment. 
Insight. 


Good. 


Happiness. 


Truth. 



SELF-ANAL YSLS. 171 

Having explained the operations of Spirit, Soul, and 
Mind, after their respective objects, he asked the chil- 
dren what they thought he was going to do? They 
did not know. He asked who among them would be 
willing to be analyzed, and tell all their faults and 
virtues, for the benefit of themselves and the rest in 
self-knowledge. All held up their hands but one. ■ 

He then selected a little girl who was remarkably 
simple and truth-loving, and asked if she was willing 
to answer all his questions truly, whether they laid 
open her faults or her virtues. She replied, Yes ; and 
all the rest expressed satisfiction. 

LOVE. 

Having drawn tbem into two concentric arcs of 
circles round his table, over which the blackboard 
hangs, Mr. Alcott began to speak of Love. Do you 
think you love ? Yes. Whom ? My mother. What 
do you love in your mother? She was silent. Her 
voice, her manners, her appearance, her spirit ? Yes, 
all. Suppose she should lose her voice ; and her ap- 
pearance should change: should you still love her? 
Yes. You think that, independently of all that pleases 
your eye and mind, and of the good she does you, — 
even if she were to die, and you should see, hear, be 
taken care of by her no longer, you should still love 
her? Yes. What do the rest think? (These ques- 
tions are not as many as were asked, however; the 
answers were very deliberate.) They all said. Yes, 
she does love, it is real love. 



172 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Mr. Alcott then said : If your mother were going to 
die, and the physicians said, If you Avould die, your 
mother's life could be saved, — would you die for your 
mother ? She was silent. Mr. Alcott then went on to 
speak of the importance of her mother's life to her 
father, her brothers and sisters. She Avas still silent. 
How would it be with the rest? said he. One boy 
said, I should not hesitate one moment. Mr. Alcott 
inquired into this, and he said : Because his mother's 
life Avas more valuable to her friends than his Avas ; be- 
cause she Avas important to his younger brother, and 
because he should not be A^ery happy in life if his 
mother were dead. There was some conversation with 
some other boys ; and one said, that he was sure he 
could not die for his mother, though he cared more for 
her than for any one else. Mr. Alcott said. And what 
do you think you should lose if you died ? He replied, 
I do not know. You Avould lose your body, said Mr. 
Alcott; and then turning to the little girl, he asked 
her if she had yet concluded AAdiether she could die 
for her mother ? Yes, said she A^ery quietly, and after 
this long deliberation, in which it had been evident 
she endeavored not to deceive herself. Do the rest 
think she could ? said Mr. Alcott. Yes, said several ; 
I do not doubt she could. Well, said Mr. Alcott, do 
you think if by suffering a great deal of pain, you could 
make your father and mother happy all their hves, you 
would be willing to suffer ? She was silent. Others 
cried out : Oh, yes ! I knoAV she could ; and professed 
that they could. Mr. Alcott turned to the cast of 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 173 

Christ, and spoke of his life ; his sacrifice of enjoyment ; 
his acceptance of suifering, his objects, his love. Ques- 
tions were asked whose answers brought out a strong 
view of his spiritual, unselfish love of the sj)irits of 
men ; and she was asked if she thought her love had 
any of this deep character. She was silent ; and even 
the rest were here awed into some self-distrust. But 
few thought their love had any of the characteristics 
of Christ's love. 

Mr. Alcott then asked her if she could bear the faults 
of others, and love them still ? Sometimes. Can you 
bear with the impatience of your sisters and brothers 
at home? She smiled, and said she never had any 
occasion. Have you ever had occasion for forbearance 
and patience anywhere else ? She did not remember, 
she said. Never in any instance ; not in this school, 
nor anywhere ? Yes, she recollected once ; but not 
in this school. Well, did you forbear? Yes. Does 
any one else think this little girl has had occasion to 
forbear in this school ? Several said. Yes. How many 
think she acted with forbearance ? All held up their 
hands. Who" think they have required her forbear- 
ance ? Two held up their hands ; and Mr. Alcott con- 
gratulated them on their acquisition of a better spirit 
than they had shown formerly. 

Do you still think, said Mr. Alcott, that you really 
love, — love enough to sacrifice and forbear? Yes, 
said she. Nothing you have heard has led you to 
doubt this? No. What do the rest think? That she 
loves, she sacrifices, she forbears; that hers is real love. 



174 BECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

Well, look at the scale. You see the first division is 
Spirit. The spirit comes from God ; it loves, believes, 
obeys. We obey what we have faith in ; we have 
faith in what we love ; love is pure spiritual action. 
The spirit loves. The spirit, with its love, foith, and 
obedience, sanctifies or makes holy the soul, in its 
appetites, affections and aspirations, so that it gets 
happiness. And it clears and purifies the mind, in its 
faculties of insight, judgment, and imagination, so that 
it discovers truth. 

FAITH. 

Mr. Alcott began : We discovered last Wednesday 
that Love sacrifices and forbears. We might say a 
great deal more about love, but now we will go on to 
Faith. What is fiiith ? Soon all the hands went up. 

He began with the youngest, who said, Faith is spirit. 
Did you ever have any ? Yes. The next said. Faith 
is not to doubt goodness in the spirits of people. An- 
other said. Faith is a thought and feeling. When did 
you have faith ? Yesterday. What was it about ? I 
thought school kept yesterday afternoon; mother 
thought it did not; I was sure it did. Another said, 
Faith is only a feeling. Another said. Faith is love. 
There is faith in love, said Mr. Alcott. Another said, 
Faith is liking people from their looks. Whom have 
you faith in from her looks? I have faith in my 
mother. Why? Because I like her looks, and love 
her soul. All the children who had answered thus far 
were under six years old. One of seven years old said, 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 175 

Faith is confidence in another. In another's what? 
In another's spirit; that people will do what they 
promise. A boy who is continually doing wrong, and 
failing in duty, said. Faith was obedience. Have you 
much faith ? No. You have come pretty near losing 
your faith ? Yes. Have you more now than you had 
some time ago ? Yes. How will you get more faith ? 
By doing as I am told. He looked serious, and some- 
what distressed ; and Mr. Alcott said, Well, go on and 
be obedient, and you will find faith. Another boy 
said. Faith is confidence. Whom have you confidence 
in? In you. Why? I don't know. A httle girl 
said, Faith is to believe. Do you believe or doubt the 
most ? I think I have more faith than doubt, said she. 
A boy said. Faith is to trust and believe. Is trust in 
the heart or head? said Mr. Alcott. In the heart. 
And belief ? In the head. Another boy said. To con«- 
fide in the souls and promises of others. Another said, 
To confide in one you love. Then you must love? 
Yes. Faith then comes out of love? Yes, I think so. 
One deaf boy, who sat near Mr. Alcott, but could 
not hear the rest speak, said : I don't know any thing 
about faith, but I guess I shall learn now. Then you 
already have some fiiith, said Mr. Alcott. Do you 
think faith is a thought or a feeling ? They all decided 
that it was a feeling. Such of you as think this little 
girl has this feeling may hold up your hands. All did 
so. Such of you as have faith in her, taith that she will 
do as she promises, that she will not disapj^oint any 
just expectation, may hold up your hands. They all 



176 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

did so. Does any one doubt her? No one. Well, 
this is a matter of opinion ; it is the head's faith. How 
many of you have the feeling, the faith that gi'ows out 
of love to her ? Several. Do you think that you have 
faith? said he, addressing her. Yes, I think I have. 
Can you remember any instance when you proved it ? 
ISTo. Do you generally think people are good when 
you first see them? Yes, generally; not always. In 
some particular instance that you have not had faith, 
can you tell what was the reason? I don't remember. 
Do you have faith in j)eople's good intentions, even 
when you see that they do wrong? Yes, generally. 
Can you think of any persons in whom you have no 
faith ; in whom you have no confidence ? A very few. 
Do you think, as you grow older, that you have more 
or less faith in others? More in some people. Can 
you make a distinction between people in whose inten- 
tions you confide, and those in whose characters and 
actions you confide ; have you been disappointed much ? 
She thought not much. 

How is it with the rest of you, — do any of you doubt 
more than confide and love ? One boy held up his 
hand. Do you want to doubt ? I cannot help it in 
many instances. Does the doubt come from your 
heart or head ? I don't know. Several more doubters 
held up their hands, and were conversed with. Who 
of you think you believe more, and doubt less, than 
you did six months ago ? Most held up their hands. 

Mr. Alcott then turned to the little girl. In whom 
have you faith ? In my fiither and mother. Has your 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 177 

fhitli more feelino; than thought in it ; or more tlioiio-ht 
than feehng ? More feeling than thought. Do you 
think you get thoughts at this school which explain 
your feelings more and more ? Yes : I think the mind 
explains the heart, said she. Knowledge explains 
faith ? Yes. Does faith begin in feeling or thought ? 
In feeling. Has a little infant any faith ? Yes, a great 
deal. On this question, a boy whom I asked replied 
that he thought an infant brought faith into the world 
with it ; for when it did mischief, it always thought 
that its mother could mend it all, and perhaps that was 
the reason it was so apt to do mischief And was there 
not great profoundness in this observation ? The 
unity of children's spiritual being is so deep and interior, 
that it is long before division, a break, or destruction, 
even in the outward world, can be apprehended. The 
natural condition of things in their apprehension is 
unity and perfection. In apparently disturbing this, 
they feel their own power. To reconstruct the unity 
of the spirit is Art, man's highest action, a dim image 
of the creativeness of God. Mr. Alcott went on : If all 
come into the world with faith in their hearts, what is 
the purjDose of living here ? Listen and hear wdiat this 
little girl says. She said. To try to keep our faith. 
Yes, said Mr. Alcott, that is a great truth ; you must 
try to keep it by feeling it out, thinking it out, and then 
acting it out. 

What is the first object, out of itself, on which the 
faith of an infant rests ? On its mother. What brings 
faith out of its spirit? The mother's love. Does it 

12 



178 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

stop in the mother ? No, it goes to the father, to the 
brothers and sisters. Does it stop there ? No, it goes 
to God. Does it go immediately to God ? Not till it 
hears about him, said she. Have you fliith in any thing 
but persons ? After a while she said she had faith in 
Nature. Have you faith in yourself? Yes. Your 
fjxith begins in yourself, and goes all round among your 
friends, and into Nature, till it finds God ? Yes. Who 
gave you faith? God. God then is the source and 
supreme object of faith. Did you ever hear these 
words, " In him we live, and move, and have our 
being " ? Yes ; it is in the Bible. When did God give 
you faith ? When he made my soul — it is my S2)irit. 
Yes, said Mr. Alcott ; as a tree without sap would be 
no tree, but a dead thing, so a soul without faith would 
be no spirit. This little girl has faith in herself, in her 
soul, in her father, mother, sisters, friends, teachers ; in 
Nature, and in God. One of the boys said, God should 
have come first. Mr. Alcott said. She means that she 
has found out her faith, and her knowledge of God has 
explained the feeling of faith entirely. 

What is likely to carry faith away, or deaden it? 
There was no answer. He continued, Other parts of 
our nature, especially the appetites, may carry faith 
away, may quench the spirit. What tries your faith 
most ? My impatience. All the rest seemed surprised 
and laughed ; and declared that she never was impa- 
tient. Mr. Alcott said, If she calls herself impatient, 
wdiat do you think of yourselves ? This involved a 
long talk, in which the most im2)atient boy in school 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 179 

expressed it to be his opinion that he was very patient. 
He made out to prove that he was not utterly destitute 
of patience, that he was not always infinitely impatient. 
But, hke most persons who think a great deal more 
about themselves than other people, he takes the germ 
that really exists for the cultivated plant which might 
but does not come from it. Mr. Alcott now turned to 
the little girl. Have you ever been impatient in this 
room ? Yes. About your lessons ? About my Latin 
lesson. (Her teacher can truly say it never was per- 
ceptible.) Have you ever felt impatient with any of 
the scholars ? No, they treat me very kindly. Such 
as think that they have ever treated this little girl 
ungenerously, unkindly, may hold up their hands. 
Four or five di'd. Did you know it ? said Mr. Alcott 
to her. No, said she. 

Suppose some one should say about you (and he 
particularized many slanders), could you preserve 
your fliith in people's good intentions, and in yourself, 
and in God ? After a long silence she said, I should 
know my sisters would not believe it. You have too 
much faith to imagine such slanders? said Mr. Alcott. 
Another girl said, A good person could not be slan- 
dered so. Socrates was slandered so, said Mr. Alcott : 
he lost his life on the absurd accusation of having 
corrupted the youth of Athens. The martyrs were 
accused of bad intentions towards society. Jesus was 
accused of deceiving the people, on the one hand, and 
of wishing to dethrone Caesar Augustus and become 
Emperor, on the other. There was never a great bene- 



180 EECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

factor to man, who was not accused of being opposed 
to the very objects he had at heart. And it is often 
so in common life. The noble-souled are misunder- 
stood. The generous are misrepresented. Martyrs, 
and even discoverers of science, have been uniformly 
traduced by people around them. The greatest bene- 
factors of the present age are slandered. Some of the 
best people I know are the most slandered. Have you 
faith enough to bear slander then ? for, if you have not, 
you will not keep your faith. She thought she had. 

OBEDIENCE. 

Mr. Alcott began : We have found that this little 
girl's love is so spiritual that it has in it self-sacrifice 
and forbearance ; and she has fliith enough in herselt^ 
her friends, in Nature, and in God, to give her courage 
and fortitude.- You see, by the scale, that the Spirit 
not only loves and trusts, but obeys. Do you know 
what it is to obey ? To follow. How ? With actions. 
Must there be any feeling in the action ? Yes, — a 
w^illing feeling. What should we obey ? Keason and 
conscience, said a large boy. Is not reason always in 
conscience ? No. What is there in conscience, when 
there is no reason ? I cannot express it. Another boy 
said, We should obey the Bible and conscience. What 
is it within you to which the Bible speaks ? The con- 
science, said he, at last. Some of the Httle ones said, 
We must obey the Ten Commandments ; fathers and 
mothers ; the Lord ; and one said. Our owm spirit. 
How do you find out, said Mr. Alcott to him, when 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 181 

you want to know what is right and what is wrong? 
I ask conscience. Another boy said, I ask my parents. 
A case was stated in which the parents could not be 
near; and it was asked, How should you do then? I 
don't know. Would not conscience tell you? If I 
knew which was right, conscience w^ould tell me to do 
it. You must know first, then, before conscience would 
speak ? Yes. (This boy was seven years old.) 

Another boy then asked. If one's parents should tell 
me to kill somebody, would it be right to do it ? What 
do you think ? said Mr. Alcott. I think it would not 
be right, said he. Why ? Because God commands us 
not to do wrong. You would know it was wrong then, 
even if your parents did not tell you so ? Yes. Then 
you do not depend solely on your parents to know 
right from wrong? We know God's commandments, 
said he. Suppose you were in a country where the 
true God's commands were not known, but the laws 
of an imagined wicked god were the law of the land, 
as in some heathen countries : should you know it was 
wrong to murder ? I think I should. Then conscience 
is not made up of what has been told you is right and 
wrong? Yes, it is. How, then, would it be made up 
in a country where the true God is not known ? It 
would not be a good conscience ; but there is some of 
the true God in everybody's conscience. (This boy 
was nine years old.) I hoped Mr. Alcott would tell 
him that this vision of the true God, which is in every 
conscience, more or less, is the spontaneous reason; 
and that the feeling which gives it authority is the 



182 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

sense of Absolute Being which we share with all spirits, 
even God. But he turned now to the little girl. 

Do you think you have always obeyed? No, sir. 
What oftenest tempts you to disobey? As she did 
not immediately answer, he turned to the rest, and 
asked them all, what tempted them most, which led to 
some observations to each. At last he said to her, Do 
you often feel inclined to disobey your mother ? Not 
often. Your flitheji'? No, never. Did you ever dis- 
obey your conscience with respect to your brothers and 
sisters ? Yes, once. How long ago ? About a year. 
Will you tell it ? My brother was sick, and worried 
and troubled me, and I was impatient to him, and 
hurt his feelings. Shall you ever forget this? I 
don't know. Who else here have done as this little 
girl says she did? Most held up hands. Do you 
remember any particular instances? Several did, and 
one told that once, when his brother was sick, he was 
cross, and said to him. Before I would make believe 
being sick ! Did you ever, said Mr. Alcott to the little 
girl, disobey your conscience with respect to people out 
of your own family ? Yes, sometimes. And did they 
know it ? Yes, I suppose they did. Do you think 
you love to obey your fiither and mother, and teachers, 
and conscience? Yes. And generally find yourself 
ready to do so ? Yes. Do the rest of you ? Some 
said. Yes; some said, No. How many wish you did 
love to obey more than you do? Many did. Have 
any of you failed to-day ? Several. What do you call 
people that readily obey? They answered severally, 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 183 

good, obedient, kind, honest, obliging, generous, chari- 
table, liberal, self-denying, good-natured. 

Do you know what the word docility., docile., means ? 
Tame, said one ; I have heard it applied to animals. 
Mild and gentle, submissive, easily governed, were some 
other answers. Do you think this little girl is docile? 
All held up their hands. Do you think so yourself? 
After a pause she said. Generally. What does docile 
mean in the dictionary ? They took their dictionaries, 
and found that Johnson said teachable. He told them 
to put them up. Some did not obey. Are you docile ? 
said he. Instantly every book was put up. 

CONSCIENCE. 

To-day, Mr. Alcott remarked that the little girl 
generally questioned was not present ; and he took out 
a httle boy of five, and began with remarking. We 
have learned that spirit loves, trusts, is docile, or obedi- 
ent ; but there is much more to say about obedience. 
Little boy, he continued, we are going to find out, not 
whether you have good health, or have knowledge, or 
enjoy yourself, but whether you are good. What 
makes us good? Conscience. What is conscience? 
It is the spirit speaking. Have you any conscience? 
Yes. How do you know? My mother told me so. 
When? Why, once she was washing my face and 
hands, and I did not want to have her ; and she told 
me that people would think my conscience was dirty, 
if my body was dirty ; and so I asked her what my 
conscience was, and she said it was what told us right 



184 RECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

and wrong. Well, did you look within, and find there 
was conscience? Yes. Such of you as think you 
were told of conscience before you found it out, may 
hold up your hands. Most of them did. How many 
of you think your conscience began to be when you 
were told of it ? Some did ; and the little boy added, 
There was a spirit before. Was not this the way with 
you : there was a feeling before, and your mother made 
a thought of the feeling ? Oh, yes ! Some, however, 
thought there was a time when there was neither a 
feeling nor a thought. Can you conceive that the 
spirit lived before your bodies were made ? Most of 
them said, Yes. About half-a-dozen, including the 
older ones, thought it was not possible. 

Mr. Alcott then said, I observe that those who can- 
not conceive of spirit without body existing in God 
before it comes out upon the earth are the very ones 
who have required the most discipline and punishment, 
and have the least love of obedience. The rest are 
those who exercise most self-control, and seem to have 
the most conscience. Have you all conscience ? Ye 
How did you get it ? No one knew. At last a boy o\ 
seven (mentioned once before) said, God gives us our 
consciences. When? Why, when we have learned 
right and wrong, God sends us conscience to make us 
do right. So I think, said the oldest boy in school. 
Is it born in the soul, said Mr. Alcott, or does God add 
it to the soul? He adds it. Is it something new? 
Yes. Do the rest tliink so? No one agreed. And 
the oldest boy said, It is in the soul, but it does not 



esi 
of 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 185 

act till there is knowledge. Does it ever act, then, 
fully? No. True; there is much in the spirit that 
can never be represented in thought, or acted out, at 
least on earth. And so, little boy, when you went to 
be washed, you did not ask of conscience whether you 
were going to act right or wrong while you were being 
washed ? No ; I was a very httle boy, and I used to 
think, if I did not do what was right, my mother would 
punish me. Was that all you thought about right and 
wrong,— being punished and not being punished? 
Yes, that was all. Well, what do you think about it 
now? Now I think of Pilgrim. What part of " Pil- 
grim's Progress"? Fighting Apollyon, said the child. 
Do you think you should be better if you never were 
punished ? No ; for I should wish to do wrong, and it 
would be wrong to wish to do Avrong. 

How many of you think your wishes are almost 
always good ? Two boys held up their hands. How 
many think their wishes are too often bad? Two; 
and the little boy questioned was one. When you wish 
to do wrong, what stops you ? My conscience ; when 
I want to hug very little children so hard that it would 
hurt them, and I very often do, my conscience stops 
me. Does your conscience go into your mind and find 
out a reason for not hugging these little children? 
Yes ; the reason is, it would hurt them to be hugged 
so hard. Did you ever wish to strike? No, never in 
my life. How far does your desire to hurt by hugging 
carry you? Why, as far as my conscience lets me go. 
This child speaks very slowly, which aids his meaning. 



186 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

How many of you keep all your feelings within the 
limit which conscience says is right ? Not a single one 
held up his hand. When conscience does limit your 
feelings within the bounds of right, what spiritual action 
do you perform ? Obedience, said several. Mr. Alcott 
again turned to the little boy, and said, Supposing you 
should say, when you wanted to do some particular 
thing, Oh ! I must do it (though conscience says, No) ; 
and so you do a little worse than conscience would 
allow to-day, and to-morrow you go a little firther, and 
to-morrow a little farther. What sort of a boy should 

you be at last ? Just such a boy as (he named one 

of the worst boys in school). Can you do wrong, and 
escape punishment in your mind ? No, never ; it always 
makes me worse. Suppose a boy is angry, what is the 
punishment in his mind ? Why, he feels as if he could 
take the world and break it into two pieces, tear it in 
halves ; and, Mr. Alcott, will you let me tell you what 
part of " Pilgrim's Progress " I like best ? Yes, said 
Mr. Alcott. It is where Mr. Greatheart is killing the 
Giant Despair. Is there any Mr. Greatheart in you? 
Yes, and he is just kilUng the Giant Despair; for once 
I thought I should never be good. Why not ? Why, 
I would get tired sitting, and so leave oif doing some- 
thing, and look around. Should you like to be very 
good? Oh, yes! How good? Good as I can be. 
Who was the best man in the world? Lafiyette. 
Was he the very best ? Oh, no ! it was JesuS Christ ; 
I am surprised I could forget that. How many of you 
think, said Mr. Alcott, that you can be as good as Jesus 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 18T 

-Christ in another world? Several held np their hands. 
Do any of you feel in desi:>air, as if you never could be 
what you want to be? Several held up their hands. 
One said he was in despair of doing what he w^anted to 
do with his mind. What do you w^ant to do with it ? 
He could not explain. Several said they wanted to 
be good. One said he w^ould go through fire to be 
good. Another said he wanted to have a strong mind. 
Strong thoughts or feelings? Strong thoughts. An- 
other wanted to be good, and to do good. Yes, said 
Mr. Alcott, part of being good is doing good. I can- 
not conceive of being good without the goodness 
shaping itself into actions. Several wanted to have 
self-knowledge. One wanted to have self-control. An- 
other w^anted to be generous. Such of you, said Mr. 
Alcott, as think you came into the world to do all 
these things you have spoken of, may hold up your 
hands. All held up their hands. Do you know recess- 
time is passed, half an hour ? N'o, said all, with great 
surprise, looking at the clock. Well, there is still half 
an hour. You may take half of it for recess ; or I will 
read fi-om Krummacher. They decided to hear the 
reading, and he read 

THE VOICE OF COXSCTElSrCE. 

A rich man, named Chryses, gave orders that a poor 
widow and her five children should be driven out of 
one of his houses, because she was unable to pay the 
rent. But when his servants came to her, the woman 
said: Oh! grant a little delay; perhaps your master 



188 RECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

may take pity on us : I will go to him and implore his 
forbearance. 

The widow thereupon went to the rich man with 
four of her children (for one of them lay sick), and 
they all earnestly entreated that they might not be 
turned out. But Chryses said, I cannot recall my com- 
mands ; unless you pay forthwith what you owe me, you 
must go. 

The mother then wept bitterly, and said : Alas ! the 
attendance on my sick child has consumed all my earn- 
ings and prevented me from working. And the chil- 
dren prayed with their mother that they might not be 
cast out. 

But Chryses turned from them, and went forth to the 
pavilion in his garden, and lay down according to cus- 
tom on a couch to repose himself It was a sultry day, 
and close to the pavilion floAved a stream which dif- 
fused refreshing coolness, and the air was so serene that 
scarcely a breeze stirred. 

Then Chryses heard the murmur of the reeds on the 
banks, but it sounded to him like the moaning of the 
children of the poor widow; and he became uneasy 
upon his couch. He then listened to the noise of the 
stream, and it was as though he lay on the shore of a 
boundless sea, and he turned upon the pillow. When 
he again listened, the thunder of a rising tempest pealed 
at a distance, and then he felt as if he heard the trump 
of the last judgment. 

He then rose forthwith, and hastened to the house, 
and commanded his people to admit the poor widow 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 189 

again into the cottage ; but she had gone forth into the 
wilderness with her children, and was nowhere to be 
found. The storm meanwhile apjjroached, and the 
thunder rolled, and the rain descended in torrents. 
And Chryses walked to and fro, and was full of un- 
easiness. 

On the following day, Chryses received tidings that 
the sick child had died in the forest, and that the 
mother had gone away with the others. Then did the 
garden and his pavilion and his couch become hateful 
to him, and he no longer delighted in the coolness of 
the murmuring stream. 

Chryses soon afterwards fell sick, and in the heat of 
the fever he incessantly heard the murmur of the reeds, 
and the noise of the stream, and the faint rolling of the 
approaching thunder. And so he gave up the ghost. 

WILL. 

Mr. Alcott began the next analysis, March 11th, by 
first asking questions to define the word power. Is 
power in you, or out of you ? One said. Out of you ; 
that is, out of your soul ; but it is in the body. The 
rest simply agreed that power was in us. On being 
asked what one word included all the powers of the 
human being, one said. Will. Mr. Alcott asked if these 
powers were always in action. Yes, was the answer ; 
which was afterwards modified, on their being led to 
see that we felt more and thought more at some times 
than others. 

He then asked questions to define the word quicken. 



190 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

It was decided that to quicken a thought or feeling was 
to call it forth into action. He asked such as thought 
that they had been quickened since they came to this 
school, to hold up their hands. Many did so. What 
has quickened you ? They severally and simultaneously 
replied, Your spirit ; Your conscience ; Your life. 

He then asked questions to define the word tempt. 
He described a temptation, without using the word, and 
they recognized it. What is the object of temptation? 
said he. To quicken the powers, was the final answer. 
He asked several of them what tempted them most ? 
A little boy answered, I cannot tell yet, I have not 
done — (thinking, he meant). Many answered, Play; 
Pleasure ; Appetites. Some did not know. The thinker 
at last said, he wanted to pull people about more than 
any other wrong thing. Who says they were never 
tempted ? No one. He described a temptation, and a 
resistance to it, and asked what would be the effect 
upon their spirits of going through such exercises? 
They answered that they should grow stronger in 
spirit. Such of you as think you grow stronger in 
spirit, by resisting temptation, hold up your hands ; do 
you understand how it is ? They all thought they did. 
Such of you as think you have already weakened your 
spirits by yielding to temptation may hold up your 
hands. All the hands went up. 

* When he had asked many questions to define the 
word discipline^ he said, Who have been disciplined in 
this school ? Many. Who feel they have needed dis- 
cipline ? The same. Who think Mr. Alcott disciplines 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 191 

your minds? All. Who think that they are in a 
better state of discipline than they were? All. 

Who has often said, I will ? All. Who has had the 
feeling that leads to saying, I will not ? All held up 
their hands. You all have a will? Yes. Do you 
expect to have your will brought out in this school ? 
Yes. How? By its being tempted, said one. And 
disciphned, said Mr. Alcott ; but where does will act ? 
Within. In your body, soul, mind, all ? Yes. How 
many think you have understood all that has been said 
pretty well? All. 

He then asked questions to define the words sense 
and flesh ; and then to define the word obedience^ and 
then discriminated obedience to conscience, from obe- 
dience to flesli and sense. Can any one obey the 
conscience unless they have confidence in it? Xo. 
Who has no confidence in his conscience ? ISTone. If 
you do beheve in your conscience, and have confidence 
in its teachings, what spiritual principle have you? 
Faith. How many mind me, because they would be 
punished if they did not? None would admit that 
they obeyed him from any other principle than faith 
in him. Some, however, confessed to particular in- 
stances of obeying him from fear of punishment. 

AYhat is that within you which sometimes carries 
you on as if you could not help it, and against your 
thoughts ; urging you on, you do not know why and 
how? Some said. Soul. He then referred to birds 
building their nests; and several said. Instinct; but 
others seemed to think that human beinos could not 



192 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

have instinct. Mr. Alcott then sjooke of the motions, 
&c., of a very young infant ; and some said they were 
instinctive. One boy said they were uuitation. An- 
other asked if uuitation was not instinct. Mr. Alcott 
then spoke of the instincts of the various scholars, which 
accounted for their characteristic movements, &c., much 
to the amusement of all; and seemed also to define 
the word. He ended with asking if all understood 
instinct now. All said, Yes. Is it in the mind, or 
soul, or body ? said Mr. Alcott ; that is, is it in what 
thinks, or what feels, or in the body ? It is in what 
feels, in the soul, said one. But it acts in the body, said 
another. Do you all think so ? Yes. 

How many of you know that you hve ? All. How 
did you find it out? They did not know. Does a 
little infant know it fives? Some said. Yes; some, 
'No. Do you remember the time when you did not 
know you lived? No. How many think you felt 
before you knew it? How many think you knew it 
first ? iNTone. Does a little infant feel the air when it 
is fanned? Yes, and it wants to take hold of the fan, 
said one ; It wants to eat the fan, said another. If a 
person could not feel the air, or pain, what would he 
be ? One said, I should say he was a thing. Another 
said. He would be a body. Another said, I should say 
he had no soul. How many of you have heard the 
word susceptible? Many hands went up, and it was 
explained to the rest. What are you susceptible 
of? Pain; Pleasure; Love; Truth; were the various 
answers. 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 193 

Do you know you are in this room? Yes. How 
many have heard the word conscious f Is it the mind 
or the soul which is susceptible? The soul. Is it 
the mind or the soul which is conscious ? The mind. 
Consciousness is in the mind, said Mr. Alcott; and 
instinct is in the soul ; is that it ? Yes. Where is 
imagination ? In the mind. Where is love ? In the 
soul. Reason? In the mind. Knowledge? In the 
mind. Afiection and passion? Instincts of the soul. 
Imagination, reason, and sense of things are the con- 
sciousness of the mind, said Mr. Alcott ; and instinct, 
aifection, and aspiration are the feelings of the soul? 
Yes. 

At two different times, there was reading during the 
last winter, with esj^ecial reference to the subject of 
Temptation ; one was the account of the temptation in 
Paradise Lost ; and one was from Genesis ; and when 
Mr. Alcott had finished reading, he asked all round, 
what new idea had been gained. Some said they had 
learned that they had gardens to superintend. Mr. 
Alcott asked what was the tree of temptation to them, 
and each answered, which involved a good deal of par- 
ticular confession. One little boy said, he thought the 
tree of life was God ; that God formed himself but into 
a tree. Did you ever see the tree of life ? said Mr. 
Alcott. I suppose I did when I was bom, said he ; but 
I don't remember how it looked, for now I only see 
God with my mind. And what is the tree of temp- 
tation ? Indolence and error, and anger and passion, 
said he. Perhaps the whole world is a temptation, 

13 



194 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

sfiid Mr. Alcott ; every thing which you see ? No, I 
do not think that ; I think part of the world is the 
garden of God, and part of the world is the garden of 
naughtiness. God is on our right hand, and the garden 
of naughtiness is on our left. I asked him if the spirit 
might not be considered the garden of God, and the 
body the garden of naughtiness ? He smiled, and said, 
Yes. And when you let your body govern you, you 
are in the garden of naughtiness ; and when you let 
your mind govern you, you are in the garden of God ? 
Yes, said he. 

Mr. Alcott then questioned them on the scale. Look 
at this scale. You see- the spirit, which manifests 
itself in search after Good, loves, trusts, obeys; and 
what is its law? Conscience, said they. Is not the 
spirit power? Yes. Suppose a being does not love 
and trust and obey Good according to conscience, has 
he any spirit ? l^o. Has he no power ? Yes. Sup- 
pose a person's action begins at the second division, 
what is the object? Pleasure ; enjoyment. The object 
of the soul, then, is pleasure ? Yes. And what is the 
law? They did not know. Is it not desire? Yes. 
Is enjoyment the same as goodness? Not always. 
Good is to be attained at the expense of enjoyment, 
sometimes? Yes. Is there any one word which in- 
cludes the two meanings of enjoyment and good? 
After a while, one girl said. Happiness. Soul does not 
mean the same as spirit then ? I thought it did, said 
one. When the soul loves, trusts, and obeys, then it is 
truly spiritual, or a pure spirit. 



SELF- AN A L YSIS. 1 95 

Where does spirit come from? From God. Yes, 
said Mr. Alcott, when the soul beholds God, it becomes 
spiritual. Spirit is life. Life comes from God. Spirit 
comes from God into the soul, and may be tempted to 
become appetite, aifection, passion. What does tempted 
mean? It means tried. Can a good spirit be tried, 
tempted ? There was no answer to this question ; and 
he opened the Bible and read the temptation of Christ, 
paraphrasing the word devil as appetites, passions, false 
ideas, — in short, whatever feeling or thought may- 
lead away from virtue. By the first temptation was 
shown the principle on which the appetites were to be 
resisted. Man does not live by bread alone. It is his 
body only that lives by bread ; but there is something 
more than body in a man ; something which lives upon 
what comes from God. " Every word " means every 
manifestation of God in things and beings. By the" 
second temptation, he showed on what princi^^le the 
passion of ambition, or of working by splendid self-dis- 
playing prodigies, was to be resisted. We should put 
our trust in general principles, and not in the expecta- 
tion of extraordinary interpositions ; for to trust in the 
power of goodness and truth shows the highest kind of 
faith. By the third temptation, he showed the principle 
on which the desire to use pious frauds, and the plans 
of a narrow expediency, are to be resisted ; sincerity 
being the true worship of God. All this was brought 
out, not without a great deal of talk, in which I joined, 
and so lost the Kecord. In the beginning, one of the 
boys laughed as soon as Mr. Alcott said the word deml 



196 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

(having a ludicrous association with it). Mr. Alcott 
asked, What does devil mean? An evil spirit. An evil 
si^iiit within you, or out of you ? Out of me. How 
many of the rest tliink the word devil represents a 
shape out of your mind? About half held up their 
hands. How many think the word devil represents all 
that tends to wrong-doing within you ? All held up 
their hands but two, who persisted in saying that they 
thought the devil had a shape out of the mind. 

As the little girl, who was generally questioned, on 
this day of analysis was not present, a boy of ten years 
of age took her place. Mr. Alcott began with asking, 
when a soul resisted temptation. When it does not 
give up to the body, said the boy. Is the law of the 
flesh the same as the law of the sj^irit ? No. What is 
the law of the flesh? Desire. What is the law of 
the spirit ? Conscience. If a boy gives up his con- 
science to his desire, he subjects the law of the spirit 
to the law of the flesh ? Yes, he yields to temptation. 
Suppose you sit down to a table where there is every 
thing good to eat and drink (he went on and described 
a great many luxuries), what part of your nature is 
tempted ? Appetites. Hoav many of you seek to gratify 
your appetites ? [He enlarged, and made graphic de- 
scriptions of common temptations to the appetites, 
which elicited a good deal of confession from all the 
boys.] He here read from Spenser the description of 
Gluttony, in the train of Liii^ifera. 

Do you think, said he to the boy who was especially 
questioned, that you obey the law of the flesh, or the 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 197 

law of the spirit, Avitli respect to your appetites ? He 
said the law of the spirit. Always ? Always. Do you 
never desire any gvatiiication for your body, to a degree 
that wars against the law of the spirit ? No. All the 
boys smiled at his self-complacency, which they seemed 
to think might proceed from self ignorance. Mr. Alcott 
reminded him how impatient he was of cold last winter, 
much more impatient than many others. Some anec- 
dotes were then told of fortitude and self-denial in 
children, by way of awakening in him a higher sense 
of spirituality than he seemed to have ; for it was the 
want of an adequate sense of the law of the spirit, 
which made him feel that he obeyed it, when in 
truth he is a good deal controlled by the law of the 
flesh. 

Mr. Alcott then asked all the school such questions 
as these : How many of you are apt to trouble your 
parents about your dress, because you cannot bear any 
little annoyance, or it does not gratify the appetite of 
the eye ? How many give way to anger ? How many 
can bear an insult? Not one boy thought he could 
bear an insult mthout revenging ; and some said, that 
they ought not. Did Jesus Christ bear insults ? Yes. 
Did he return them with injury ? No. But if you are 
insulted, ought you to return it with injury, — so great 
a wrong is done you ! They were silent. Is it the law 
of the spirit, or of the flesh, which makes you want to 
strike ? Of the flesh. Which law is it that makes you 
want to speak harshly, when so spoken to ? The law 
of the flesh. Did Jesus Christ revile when he was 



198 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

reviled? No. Did he strike when struck? No. Did 
he let his disciples fight for him ? No. Why not ? 
There was silence. What was there in his sj^irit that 
prevented it ? Love, said a little girl. How many of 
you desire to obey the law of the sj^irit, instead of the 
law of the flesh, upon this subject? Many held up 
their hands, and the boy questioned among the num- 
ber ; but he said he could not help revenging an insult. 
You acknowledge your weakness on this point ? Yes. 
— Mr. Alcott and I both agreed that this weakness, 
which he was willing to confess, was not so great in 
his case as the other weakness, which he w^ould not 
confess. However, we said nothing. In one point he 
was true to himself: he was true to his own want of 
moral courage. No one who compared his answers, 
during this analysis, with those of the two former chil- 
dren, could fail to see the difference between their 
absolute simplicity and his non-committal spirit. 

Well, some of you desire tQ obey the law of the 
spirit ? what is the difference between desire and reso- 
lution? Resolution has will in it; Resolution has 
thought in it; Resolution has self-denial in it; Reso- 
lution is spirit, — were the various answers. How 
many of you have seen people in the world who can 
refrain from revenge ? Many thought they had. How 
many respect yourselves the more, when you have 
given up to your passions? None. Do you know that 
revenge is the princij^le of murder: how many have 
felt this murderous principle? Several. How many 
think you have power within you, if you will use it, to 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 199 

master the desires of the body ? Many did. Three boys 
thought they had not. Hoav do you expect the power 
will come ? said he to one. I do not expect it will come. 
What! God has sent you into the world, and told 
you to seek good, and yet you expect never to feel 
the power ! Have you no spirit ? He was silent. Oh, 
you have a giant spirit within you, stronger than all 
the earth : it will remove mountains if you will call 
upon it. 

One of the boys here said. It is twelve o'clock. Who 
think it a punishment to be here ? said Mr. Alcott. 
None. Who think it a reward to come to school ? All. 
How many think there would be no j^unishment here, 
if the law of the spirit was obeyed ? All. How many 
of you think that all my punishments are to bring you 
back to the law of the spirit ? All. Why do you not 
come under the law of the spirit of yourselves ? There 
was no answer. I kept a school once, in which there 
was no punishment ; but the reward was, to come and 
see me twice a week in the evening, or to stop with me 
half an hour after schooL How many would like it, if 
I had this reward now ? Several held up their hands. 
Why? One said, I should like the instruction; an- 
other, I should be benefited ; &g. 

Well, said Mr. Alcott to the boy thus analyzed, 
you have been weighed in the balance to-day, and, 
even according to your own opinion, have been found 
wanting in one resj^ect : perhaps you have felt your- 
self wanting on both points on which we have con- 
versed. 



200 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 



APPETITES. 

Mr. Alcott said, Shall any one want any thing, during 
our lesson? Seven or eight boys asked for water, and 
Mr. Alcott took the pitcher and a cup, and went to each 
and gratified the Avant. He remarked that this was a 
practical illustration of the subject of the day, — Appe- 
tites. One boy who had asked said he would wait 
till recess ; but Mr. Alcott insisted on his drinking. 

Having done this, he said. The soul wants to 
satisfy itself in its search after pleasure. This want 
is called Desire. Desire is the law of the soul. What 
is a law? A command, said one. Something that 
must be done, said another. Is there desire in appe- 
tite ? Yes. What is appetite ? It is a part of the 
soul, said a boy of five. Several said, No; appetite 
grows out of the body. Suppose the body dead, said 
Mr. Alcott, is there appetite in it ? No. Why not ? 
Because it is not alive. What made it alive ? The 
soul. Then appetite is in the soul, and operates 
through the body; is not that it? There was still a 
doubt, and he went on, It is common to confound the 
organs of appetite mth the appetites ; but can you 
not conceive there could be appetite without a body ? 
They could not conceive of this. Does the eye see ? 
A boy of five said. When we look on any picture, there 
is a picture reflected into the inside of our eyes, and the 
mind sees it. But you know, said Mr. Alcott, there 
are some pictures which we see by our imagination. 
Well, said the child, the way that is I will tell you : 



JSELF-ANALYSIS. 201 

The pictures we look at, out of us, go into our minds, 
and change, and mix up, and come before our minds in 
new forms. Do these pictures come into our outward 
eyes ? Oh, no ! our mind loolvs into itself, and sees 
them. As many of you as think the soul sees by the 
eyes, and that the eyes would not see if it were not for 
soul, may hold up your hands. They all did. As 
many of you as think the appetites are the soul seeking 
for pleasure by organs, as the soul looks out by an 
organ of vision, hold up your hands. Only a part did ; 
and one boy, who did not, said. People do not always 
have appetite, though they all have bodies. The sick 
have no appetite. 

Mr. Alcott replied, Appetite is not merely after food, 
but for any bodily gratification or easement. He then 
asked if they thought the desire of sleep an appetite ? 
the desire of motion ? the desire of sweet sounds ? the 
desire of seeing beauty? the desire of smeUing sweet 
odors, and of touching delicate things ? Most of them 
agreed that .these seemed to them appetites. Well, 
said he, do not all these desires manifest themselves in 
the body? Yes. Yet they are soul? Yes. What 
do the appetites want? Food, said one. All outward 
things, said another. Are outward things adapted to 
the soul's appetites? Yes. Do you think there is 
enough in the world to satisfy the appetites ? Yes. Is 
there enough outAvard to satisfy the soul's spiritual 
wants, its love, faith, power? None held up their 
hands. 

How do you know when the appetites have obtained 



202 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

enough ? We are satisfied, said the little girl analyzed. 
What is the law ? Satisfaction. Is not temperance a 
better word ? said Mr. Alcott. And are you temperate 
in your desire for these gratifications we have men- 
tioned ? Generally. In what do you find yourself most 
liable to fail ? She did not know. Have you an in- 
ordinate desire for food ? No. Do you eat to gratify 
your taste, or to satisfy your hunger? For the last. 
Do you drink any thing to please your taste ? No. 
Do you pursue amusement beyond the rule of temper- 
ance ? Sometimes ; but not without thinking of con- 
science, said she, adding the last part of the sentence 
as an after-thought. A boy here said there was no 
use in carrying conscience into play. She said she 
could not conceive how we could help carrying con- 
science into all we do. Mr. Alcott said, Every thing, 
even amusement, has a tendency to good or evil, and 
conscience always speaks on that question. 

This gave rise to conversation on the subject of 
amusements, and the character of plays, and their 
efiects on the habits of the mind and heart, and the 
duty of having plays that will cultivate and purify the 
imagination. Some anecdotes were told to illustrate 
the evil of playing with no plan, and of playing like 
brutes; and the good effects of playing beautiful 
imaginative plays. Mr. Alcott described a place of 
amusement, which should be fitted up with every em- 
bellishment that art could afford ; and in which there 
should be every assistance that sympathy with youth- 
ful joyance could give. They were very much de- 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 203 

lighted; and he asked if such a place on Boston 
Common would not change the character of Boston 
boys ? They thought it certainly would. 

Then he said, What do you think you should be, if 
the restraining power of conscience was taken off? 
The various answers were: Bad; Just like Satan; A 
fool ; A monkey ; A donkey ; A snake ; A slave ; A 
liar ; An idiot ; A toad. (I could not help telling Mr. 
Alcott afterwards that I was struck with the names of 
these animals ; for every one seemed to hit upon the 
very animal he did resemble.) One girl said, I^ should 
do a great many bad things ; another said, I should do 
all the wicked things that can be thought of; and a 
little boy said, I should not know any thing ; I should 
be a kind of a drunken person. 

Now as many as disobey conscience sometimes may 
hold up their hands. They all did. Well, you become, 
in the same degree as you disobey, just what you would 
become if you had no conscience. Who has done 
wrong to-day? Many held up their hands, and then 
confessed the particulars. What is the result of our 
analysis to-day ? That this little girl is temperate in 
seeking gratifications of her ap23etites. 

THE AFFECTIONS. 

Mr. Alcott took the Bible to read from it. He then 
asked some questions to bring their minds into atten- 
tion. One was. Do you know what the meaning of the 
word affection is? They all held up their hands. 
Then we are not going to speak of a subject of which 



204 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

you know nothing. How many think it is an inter- 
esting subject to tal^ about? Several. How many 
think it is interesting to feel affection ? All. Who, of 
all persons that you have heard of, knew the most about 
affection ? was it Jesus Christ ? Yes. I am going to 
read this morning what he says about friendship. 

He began: They were at supper, Jesus and his 
friends, it was theu' last supper together. He Avas go- 
ing very soon to do something which would show what 
friendship was ; but first he was going to talk about it. 
Shall you be interested to hear what he said ? Many 
held up their hands. If there are any who wish rather 
to go into the anteroom than to hear this reading, they 
may go. There was considerable demur, when about 
eight concluded to go. He stopped them, and asked 
them if they thought it right to go. And having 
called up many reasons why they should not, by asking 
them questions, so that some concluded they would pre- 
fer to stay, the rest went. When they had been gone 
a little while, he went out and called them all in. 

He then asked some more questions, and proceeded 
to read. The paraphrase of the conversation at the 
supper was very beautiful. He then laid aside the 
Bible, and arranged the school for the analysis. 

Is conscience the law of affection? Yes. Could 
there be any love without conscience ? Silence. Can 
you like another without conscience? Here was a 
difference of opinion. Do you like anybody whom you 
do not love ? Yes. Do you love anybody whom 
you do not like ? No. Do any of you think the body 



SEL F-ANAL YSIS. 205 

loves ? No. Do the appetites love ? They love good 
eating. Do you love to eat or lilve to eat ? Some said 
they loved, and some said that they liked the object of 
appetite. Loving, said Mr. Alcott, is all it seems, and 
much more ; liking seems more than it is. Who think 
it is wrong to like to eat, like to play, &c. ? One said, 
It is sometimes right, and sometimes wrong. Liking 
is not wrong, said Mr. Alcott; but who think it is 
wrong to like these things better than our spirits ? 
Most held up their hands. That is the very mistake 
that the drunkard, the sluggard, the glutton, and all 
who love their appetites, make. You have all of you 
been drunk, not with rum or wine, but with amuse- 
ment, with pleasure. There was a good deal of answer 
to this remark, which was completely understood. 

Who think it is wrong to have pleasure ? Some held 
up their hands. Do you think so ? I do not ; but 
how are we going to find out when we have pleasure 
enough ? By conscience, said one. Yes, the bowl 
is at our lips ; but conscience says. That's enough ; 
conscience takes care even of our bodies. He made 
some personal applications, and then went on : You 
know it is the spirit that sees, that feels, that touches, 
&G. Suppose God had so made our bodies that every 
time the spirit wanted to see, hear, taste, touch, smell, 
eat, drink, or move, it must be accompanied with some 
pain of the body ; would life be as it is now ? No, said 
they. No, continued he ; God has accompanied all 
these things with pleasure ; yet we abuse his goodness 
sometimes, and act for bodily pleasure itself. Is not 



206 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

tluit ungrateful and foolish? But the drunkard, be- 
cause when he drinks it gives him pleasure, thinks that 
he will drink. 

Does conscience rule over your pleasures ? said he 
to the little girl analyzed. Yes. When you sit down 
to table with your father and mother, and brothers and 
sisters, do you carry conscience with you ? Yes. Some 
people only carry their bodies to the table, and they 
talk all the time about what they are eating, and how 
good it tastes. He pursued the questions. Do you 
carry your conscience to play, to church, to bed, every- 
where, and under all circumstances ? (particularizing.) 
Yes. The others also answered, and thought they car- 
ried it, especially to church. I said, I know some 
children in the room who do not carry conscience to 
church. Mr. Alcott said, Conscience goes with you, 
at any rate ; but I asked if you carried it, if you tried 
to be conscious of it? They seemed to doubt. How 
many of you ever think there is a right and a wrong 
way to play ? Many did. Do you always carry con- 
science with you to play? On second thougiit, the 
little girl thought she did not. Probably none, said 
Mr. Alcott, always feel conscious of conscience ; some- 
times their likes, their appetites, or their flesh (as the 
Scripture calls it, because their appetites express them- 
selves in the flesh), get the mastery over their sj^irits. 
But you said there was conscience in afiection ; what 
do you mean ? Conscience makes us love good people. 
And keep fiithful ? said I. Yes. 

Who think they love the spirit better than their 



SELF-ANAL YSIS. 207 

bodies ? Many did. Who prove it by their actions ? 
Several hehl up their hands. Who woukl like to have 
me see all that they do ; and think it would prove to 
me that they love spirit better than they like their 
bodies ? One girl thought it would make no difference. 
One boy doubted. Most thought they should not like it. 
Well, this little girl, said Mr. Alcott, thinks she has 
found something better than eating or drinking, or 
seeing or tasting, or touching or smelling ; that she 
has got out of her appetites and senses. He then im- 
agined a fowler and his net, which illustrated the temp- 
tation of the senses ; and asked if any of them were 
ever caught in this net. They all confessed. Who 
spread this net? No answer. Which one of you, 
when you see a person who does not look just as you 
would like, who does not gratify your eyes, finds it 
hard to like him ? Some held up their hands. Those 
who held up their hands, Mr. Alcott said, were caught 
in the net of sense. He supposed the case of a boy 
offered to the school, described as full of excellence, as 
a beautiful boy, thinking of his mind, and the next day 
he should come, and his face should be plain, not so 
beautiful as was expected ; how would it be ? Some 
said that spiritual and material beauty were never dis- 
joined. There was recess. 

ASPIRATION. 

We are going to talk to-day about the desire of 
growing better ; of aiming high, and at a great deal : 
what word expresses this kind of action ? They sever- 



208 RECOliD OF A SCHOOL. 

ally said, Sensibility ; Faith ; Love ; Virtue ; Spirit- 
uality ; Aspiration. 

Aspiration, said Mr. Alcott, wliat does that mean ? 
To go up. What goes up ? The spirit. For what ? 
For goodness and truth. Who knows a person that 
aspires ? Nearly all held up their hands. Are they 
now Uving in a body ? Almost all put down their 
hands. Name those alive. Dr. Channing and Mr. 
Taylor were named. Whom did the rest mean ? Jesus 
Christ. Mr. Alcott said. Yes ; and Jesus said, If any 
one aspires to follow me, he must give up his appetites 
and false affections, and go earnestly to work to do 
difficult things. How many of you aspire in that way ? 
Several thought they did. 

Who says that we should aspire after what we can 
see wdth our eyes ? One boy said he did not see why 
we should not. Who says we should not? Several. 
Why, what were eyes made for? To see with, said 
one. To help our spirits, said another. How can they 
help our spirits ? The eyes can see the works of God, 
wdiich show our spirits his wisdom, and they can read 
the Bible. When we look at any thing, do we see it 
all ? We do not see the happiness it gives, but we 
feel it, said one. Some others thought we saw the 
whole of what we looked at. Mr. Alcott called on a 
boy to rise and stand in the middle of the room. Do 
you see that boy ? I see his body, said one. Is there 
any thing which you do not see, that helps to make 
up the thought of that boy? Yes, his feelings; his 
thoughts ; his spirit ; said they severally. What is the 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 209 

use of seeing his body ? It is the sign of his spirit. 
Shut your eyes and imagine him; can you? Yes. 
Who sees this piece of crayon? Many. Professor 
SiUiman would convince you that you saw but little of 
it. One boy said, I have seen my own spirit many a 
time. You are thinking of insiglit. Who now think 
they should aspire after what we can see Avith our eyes ? 
One boy. Who think Ave should never seek after out- 
ward things, except as signs of something better, more 
spiritual? All, Avithout exception. I know persons, 
said Mr. Alcott, Avho look after outward things ahvays, 
and for present pleasure, Avithout thinking w^hether 
they are signs. One boy here has said to me that he 
could not like a j^erson who Avas not handsome. I did 
not say I could not, but that I did not, said the boy ; 
and I cannot help it. 

Who think there is a beauty more beautiful than 
any thing their eyes see? Several. Who think the 
action of the good Samaritan Avas a beautiful action ? 
AIL Is love beautiful? Yes. Who have done a beau- 
tiful action? (He explained by instancing beautiful 
purposes, and their enaction.) A few held up their 
hands. Are you Avilling to tell Avhat they were ? No 
one Avas. You think perhaps it Avould take aAvay its 
beauty to tell it ? All again held up their hands. 

NoAV all tell me, AAdiich you think you ought to do, — 
aspire after beautiful thoughts, beautiful feelings, beau- 
tiful actions, or beautiful outward things ? All said the 
former; but the aesthetic added, Beautiful things too. 
Oh, yes ! said Mr. Alcott, or we should have to throw 

14 



210 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

away all our pictures and busts. Portrait and all, said 
the boys. Do you think I value that portrait for the 
form of the lace, as it presents itself to the eye ? No : 
you like him ; you think he is good ; you like his spirit, 
and so you think he is handsome, — were the several 
answers. Yes: the expression of his spirit seems to 
bring beauty to my eye, said Mr. Alcott. Now look at 
that bust of Socrates. A lady who came in here once, 
said : What an ugly thing that is ! I want to put it 
under ground ! Put Socrates under ground ! exclaimed 
the children, with surprise. Yes, so she said ; but I 
think of the mind of Socrates, his thoughts about 
beauty, his beautiful life, his beautiful death. Did you 
not think his death was beautiful when he drank the 
hemlock? Yes. Perhaps there is not a bust in the 
world that brings to mind so many thoughts of beauty 
as that does; for Socrates led people to think about 
beauty in itself. He was the teacher of Plato, the very 
philosopher of beauty. Here Mr. Alcott went towards 
the bust and touched the capacious cup of brain. What 
a brow this is! They all looked very reverent. He 
then went towards another cast, and said to a little 
boy. What does this rej^resent? A child praying. 
Prayer is aspiration, said Mr. Alcott; the aspiration 
of the whole being towards its Father. 

Now who think they have been misled by their eyes ; 
have not looked deeper than the shape of things ; have 
not thought enough of what things are the sign of? 
Many confessed. Well, it is a common fault. The 
Scripture calls this fault the lust of the eye. Mr. 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 211 

Alcott said he had, in his youth, fallen into this snare. 
He had had an inordinate pleasure in pretty things, 
even in dress. He asked what mistake a dandy made. 
To think too much of i^ersonal appearance. How many 
think so much of dress as to trouble their fathers and 
mothers about it ? Several held up their hands. Who 
are not at all particular? Several. Some of you per- 
haps make the opposite mistake, and are hardly tidy. 

He then turned to the little girl who is generally 
analyzed, and said. Do you remember being deceived 
by your eyes? She had been, she thought; but could 
remember no instances. 

Such of you as aspire after spiritual beauty, hold up 
your hands. All did. Such as aspire after material 
beauty? The aesthetic held up his hand again, and 
said, I want both. When God made the world, did he 
make things beautiful to deceive us ; or to show us his 
own beauty, so that outward things might lead us to 
hhn ? For the last. What did I say ? You said God 
made the world beautiful, so that we might know 
he was kind and beautiful, said one. Can you under- 
stand, then, that the Beautiful may lead us to the True ? 
Most held up their hands. And that the Beautiful and 
True are the sign of the Good ? Yes. Then when you 
see any thing beautiful, you should find to what true 
thing it leads, and then find of what good thing it is 
the sign, and then you are very near God: what did I 
say, little boy ? You said, said he, that Beauty is the 
sign of Truth, and Truth is the sign of Love, and God 
is Love. (This boy is five years old : the choice expres- 



212 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

sion will be observed. Both Mr. Alcott's words and 
his have been carefully retained.) Do you want good, 
beautiful feelings ? continued Mr. Alcott to him. Yes. 
When did you get some ? To-day. When? As soon 
as you began to talk about the eyes. 

Where did the beautiful thoughts youiiad this morn- 
ing come from? said I to this child, at recess. Part 
came from the conversation, and some from God. (This 
idea, constantly expressed by this child, that his original 
thoughts come from God, is his own. At least, it was 
not gained at school ; unless indirectly. No such ex- 
pression has ever been used here.) 

Such of you as know any person who, instead of 
aspiring, seems to go down, may hold up their hands. 
Many did. If you think any of your companions here 
aspire above your mark, signify it. Almost all did. 
Do you know of one here who seems never to have 
gone low ? All did. Who is it ? said Mr. Alcott to 
the little child of five. He name'd a boy of eight, in 
whose thoughts he always expresses interest. The rest 
of the boys smiled, and wanted to tell of w^hom they 
thought; but Mr. Alcott would not allow them to 
do so. 

When they came in after recess, Mr. Alcott asked 
who had gained new ideas from the morning's conver- 
sation. Most held up their hands. What different 
classes of goods are there? lie answered himself: 
Things, — outward goods ; knowledge, — intellectual 
goods ; and spiritual goods, ■ — Faith, Hope, Charity, 
&c. Is knowledge a good, when it is used for our 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 213 

own rather than others' sake, and we are proud of it ? 
They severally said, We should use it for others ; For 
ourselves ; For ourselves, but some also for other j^eople. 
Is it aspiration to seek knowledge for our own good 
alone ? No. Does a lawyer, who is using his knowl- 
edge to make* himself admired and powerful, aspire? 
No. Does a school-teacher, who teaches in order to 
get money, aspire, even though he does help his schol- 
ars ? No. Does it seem to you that the people you 
see are trying after sj^iritual good, generally? No. 
After intellectual good? Some of them. Do many 
peoj^le seem to be striving after money, houses, car- 
riages, reputation ? Yes. Do many seem to try to get 
money to do good with ? A few. Who think people 
seem to be striving for money for themselves only? 
Several ; and Mr. Alcott said. When did you find that 
out ? To-day, said a boy of ten. When I was five years 
old, said a reflective and conscientious boy of eight. 

A gentleman present here- asked a series of questions, 
calculated to bring out their opinion of Mr. Alcott's 
disinterestedness ; and they signified their undoubting 
confidence in it, not only by holding up their hands, 
but by jumping into their chairs, and stretching out 
both hands. So you think, was his last question, that 
some people aspire after something higher than physical 
good ? Yes. Such of you as think Mr. Alcott would 
make as good use of his mind, as he does now, if he 
kept his thoughts to himself, signify it. They jumped 
down fi'om their chairs, and said. No. The gentleman 
remarked to me, Mr. Alcott has his reward. 



214 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Where do yon tliink Truth and Beauty are ? resumed 
Mr. Alcott. In God. And there is some in our souls, 
said a little boy of five, after a pause. How do we get 
it in our souls ? We ask God for it, and he puts it in. 
If we do not want it much, does he put it in? Oh, 
no! we must want it very much. Did you ever hear 
these words? said Mr. Alcott: Ask, and ye shall re- 
ceive ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be 
opened unto you. Yes : Jesus Christ said theiji. 

Who think that spiritual good is the best? All. 
Who think that, in aspiring after spiritual, we get all 
other good ? All. Who said. Seek first the kingdom 
of heaven, spiritual good; and its righteousness, or 
act accordingly; and all these things shall be added 
unto you, for then they can do you no harm ? Jesus 
Christ, said all. 

Little girl, after all that has been said about aspiring, 
do you think you aspire after spiritual good more than 
any other? I think I do, said she. And next to that 
for the intellectual good which helps the soul, as the 
hand helps the body ? Yes. 

Who among you think that a school which does not 
aim at spiritual good has the right aim ? None. Who 
have received some new thoughts to-day, which they 
think they shall remember always ? Many. Who 
know themselves so well that they fear they shall 
forget ? SeveraL 

Who now think that they shall aspire to be the 
strongest and most cunning in their plays? None. 
Do you know what ambition is ? Striving to get more 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 215 

than you have, said one. What is your ambition ? I 
don't know. To be admired ? No ; but to have the 
best things. Who else says so ? A younger one said, 
The best spiritual things; and many joined with him. 
Who has not much ambition ? Severah Who will let 
things go on in their own way ? One (who. is very 
indolent). Who feel within power or will to do every 
thing ? Almost all. 

When they were dismissed, the visitor called a little 
boy of five to him, and said. Do you know what Jesus 
Christ meant by these words, " If you had faith, like a 
grain of mustard-seed, you could say to this mountain," 
&c. I have read it, said the child ; but I do not remem- 
ber what it represents. What does the mountain 
mean ? said I. It is a mountain in the mind, said he, 
without hesitation. And the mustard-seed ? A little 
faith, that will grow larger ; and he bounded away to 
go home with his companions. 

IMAGINATION. 

Mr. Alcott began thus: Who enjoy this exercise? 
Several. Who have brought fresh minds this morning, 
ready to attend? Many. Who have dull minds this 
morning? None. One boy said his mind was fresh 
from the well ! Fresh from what well ? The well of 
the spirit, said he. Mr. Alcott went on : We are on 
Imagination to-day, the power of shaping thoughts: 
who think they shall be highly interested in this? 
All held up their hands but one boy, who was out 
of temper. 



216 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

To the question, What do you mean by imagination ? 
there were several answers, among which were the 
following : The power of conceiving thoughts in your 
mind, so as to see them with your eyes ; The power 
that brings ideas out of your mind, so that others 
may see them ; Thoughts that come out of your mind ; 
To see things in your mind ; To picture forth ideas ; To 
see thoughts and feelings; To picture forth ideas and 
feelings in words, which have not come out in things ; 
To picture out things in your mind a great deal more 
beautiful than any in the outward world. The last was 
the answer of the boy who at first was out of temj)er. 
He was interested in spite of himself 

Mr. Alcott here read the Transfiguration ; and then 
asked. What does transfigure mean ? To change the 
shape. What does imagination mean ? To make new 
shnpes. Did you ever feel any thing like this ? did any 
of you ever see shapes, beautiful shapes, going out of 
your own minds? Many said. Yes. Two boys gave 
accounts of what they called visions. One said he often 
imagined Jesus Christ standing before his eyes. The 
other described a particular instance very minutely, of 
an angel coming with music, and the music seeming to 
be shaped. What is that faculty which is not imagi- 
nation, but something like it ? Fancy. Here he read 
the description of Queen Mab, as an instance of fancy; 
and then opened Coleridge's " Ancient Mariner," and 
read Parts III. and IV. 

Which has the most shaping power in it,' said he : 
this last, or the description of Queen Mab ? The last, 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 217 

was the acclamation. Sucli of you as think you have 
fixncy, and not imagination, hold up your hands. Sev- 
eral did. Such as have the most imagination. Several. 

Such of you as think you have the power of putting 
all you think and feel into words, hold up your hands. 
Several did. Who say that they never yet found words 
that would hold all their thoughts and feelings ? Sev- 
eral. Can you understand this definition? — Imagina- 
tion is the power that represents, re-j^resents ? Yes. 
Imagination rejjresents spirit, soul, mind, the outward 
world, and God, said Mr. Alcott. Imagination is the 
power by which you i:)icture out thoughts that never 
were realized in the world, as in "Pilgrim's Progress," 
said a child under six. Several more repeated the 
idea which Mr. Alcott had expressed, more or less 
exactly ; none of them so fully as this boy had done. 
Do you know any one who has no imagination ? Some 
said, 1^0, except an idiot. Mr. Alcott said there were 
many people with uncultivated imaginations who were 
not idiots. Mr. Alcott asked the little boy who de^ 
scribed the Angel of Day and Night, where he thought 
he got his imagination. He said he did not know he 
had imagination : he knew he had fancy. Mr. Alcott 
then asked the rest if they thought he had imagina- 
tion. They all said. Yes : imagination and fmcy too. 
Mr. Alcott then asked concerning each scholar; and 
they discriminated very well in regard to the individ- 
uals, showing that they had observed the operations of 
one anoth'er's foculties. 

Mr. Alcott here described imagination as the life and 



218 EECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

power of the spirit, the eagle that carries us up to high 
views ; and said that it Avas the name of the mind in 
the highest action. He then asked, When imagination 
looks back, what is it called? Memory, said one. 
When it looks forward to the future, what is it called ? 
One said, Curiosity; another, Expectation. Curiosity 
and expectation are in it, said Mr. Alcott. Foresight, 
said one of the girls. A boy of excellent understand- 
ing and little imagination said, Understanding. Mr. 
Alcott said, Oh, no ! understanding sees only what is 
immediately around it. 

judg:ment. 

When the children were arranged for analysis, the 
most lawless boy in school was made superintendent, 
an employment which keeps him from wrong-doing. 
Mr. Alcott began : This hour is a jDleasant one to those 
who look for realities within as well as without them- 
selves ; and he asked some questions to bring their 
minds steady. We are going to talk about judgment 
to-day. What is judgment? what do you do when you 
judge ? do you guess ? No, said one. A little boy of 
five, a new scholar, said, To judge is to know certainly. 
A boy of nine said, Judgment is to discriminate be- 
tween good and bad, and see what to do. Do we 
judge only about actions ? said Mr. Alcott. No : about 
feelings and quality and size. A boy of eight said, 
To judge is to think whether things are right or wrong. 
Another of the same age said, Judgment is examina- 
tion. The power of judging, said Mr. Alcott, is one of 



SELF- ANAL YSIS. 219 

the noblest which is given to man : where does it show 
itself in our nature ? In the mind, said a boy, of ten. 
In which faculty of the mind ? In the understanding, 
said one ; In the will, said another. It requires a great 
deal of thought to judge, said a boy of eight. Wliat 
do you think of that boy who last spoke? said Mr. 
Alcott to the rest of the school. He is a good boy. 
How do you know ? By his actions. How ? This led 
to an analysis of the judgment in this one instance. 
He then named several buildings, and asked which was 
the most beautiful. They told their opinions, and he 
analyzed the process in this instance again. Can we 
get along in this world with judgment without compar- 
ing ? No answer. What should you think of this : 
that a mind should see all things and subjects so 
quickly that it would know immediately how things 
were, and not feel that it was comparing or reasoning ? 
It would be the judgment of an angel, said a boy of 
five, the new scholar. This room we can all look upon, 
and form a great many judgments upon at a glance. 
Suppose a little liy, having all the mind that we have, 
were to undertake to form these judgments : how much 
time it would take, and what a quantity of geomet- 
rical and other reasoning it would have to go through ! 
The universe is a much wider space to us than this 
room would be to a fly. But this is about outward 
things. Which do you think is easier to judge of, out- 
ward things or ourselves ? There was a diiference of 
opinion ; but the most reflective ones said. It would be 
easier to judge of ourselves, of inward things ; for we 



220 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

could know what we were feeling and thinking better 
than what is around us and out of our sight ; and we 
could know all about our own actions better than we 
could all about the actions of others. 

Do we judge about every thing we do? We ought 
to do so, said one. When we look at the sun, and it 
dazzles us, ought we to judge whether it is best to shut 
our eyelid or not ? said Mr. Alcott. Oh, no ! it shuts 
of itself, said several. Then some of our actions are 
not the result of judgment, and cannot be made de- 
pendent upon judgment ; but are what ? They come 
by instinct. Can we make our judgments instincts ; 
that is, as quick as instinct ? Sometimes, said one boy, 
we do things which we might judge about, and which 
are wrong ; but we do them by instinct : now how can 
we help that ? what is that ? It is passion ; and i^assion 
is not judgment, is it? said Mr. Alcott. No. What is 
it ? Instinct. Is instinct wrong ? When it is mistaken 
for impulse, said Mr. Alcott ; when it is not governed ; 
when instinct is passion, it is wrong. How can we gov- 
ern instinct so that it may not be passion ? By reason 
and conscience, said several. Is there reason in judg- 
ment? Yes. Is there conscience in judgment? Yes. 
Is there will in judgment? Yes. Is the will which is 
in the judgment of conscience your own? It is my 
own, and God's also. What do you do when you 
judge ? We think of a great many things. Do you 
compare ? Yes. 

In comparison and reasoning, do you go into your- 
selves ? Yes. In comparing the things in the universe, 



SELF- A N.AL YSIS. 221 

and reasoning geometrically, &c., as we supposed the 
fly to do, should we go inward ? Yes. Thus you see 
that, even in studying outward things, you are aided by 
something within ? Yes. That which is within us 
must contain the idea of the' outward workl. And, to 
govern the spirit within us, and, by making it strong 
and loving, to put it in harmony with the Author, will 
enable the outward world to wake up within us its own 
image, and a sense of the beauty, power, goodness, and 
ideas of the Creator that produced it. (This perhaps 
was said in simj^ler language.) 

But what is a standard, a rule of judgment, respect- 
ing inward things? No answer. There was One, 
whose very instinct was reason and conscience, and he 
is a standard ; who was that One ? An angel, said 
our new scholar. Jesus Christ, said another. 

Well, said Mr. Alcott, let us hear what Jesus Christ 
says about judging and judgments. He read in para- 
phrase : Judge not without a great deal of care ; for 
by the same standard as you judge others, you will be 
judged yourself. You show your own character by 
your judgments : if they are just and liberal and gen- 
erous, it is because you have the sentiments of justice, 
liberality, and generosity within your own heart ; for 
these are necessary in order to sympathize with the 
magnanimous sentiments of others. 

You came to this school some months ago, with some 
notion in your heads about Mr. Alcott. You came day 
after day, and saw him do things, and heard him say 
words. Were you able to form a judgment of him 



222 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

immediately; or have you found that your opinions 
have altered ? They have altered. How many of you 
have misjudged me? Many. How many of you have 
misjudged your com]? anions, father, mother, brothers, 
sisters ? Many ; and one mentioned a particular in- 
stance. What is most necessary for us, that we may 
judge others correctly ? To know ourselves. And we 
can judge of ourselves, of inward things, more easily than 
we can of outward things ? Yes. Does the mind shape 
itself in the outward world, or does the outward world 
shape itself in the mind ? It is God's mind that shapes 
itself in the outward world. And what is our mind ? 
It is the image of God's. The human spirit is the 
image of the Di\dne Spirit ? Yes. And is the human 
sj^irit's action an image of the Divine Spirit's action ? 
Yes, sometimes ; it ought to be. Can the human spirit 
shape itself, then, as the Divine Spirit does, in the out- 
ward world ? Yes, by words. Only by words ? Yes, 
by good actions. Only by words and actions? By 
paintings and sculpture. Good actions, poetry, paint- 
ing, and sculpture are men's creations then ? Yes. 
Do the good man, the poet, the painter and sculptor, 
think most of the inward or outward world ? The 
inward. And they go from the inward to the outward 
world? Yes. And always find something or make 
something correspondent with the inward ? Yes. They 
find the inward explains the uses, &c., of the outward ? 
Yes. Then for judging of the outward world, as well 
as our fellow-beings, we must begin with ourselves? 
Yes. 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 223 



INSIGHT. 

Mr. Alcott took the Bible, and said : There are two 
hiws whicli govern all things : one is the law of neces- 
sity, or force ; the other is the law of — what? Love ; 
good- will ; conscience ; the spirit, — were the several 
answers. Can any one who is governed by force have 
his liberty ? No. What is the law of liberty ? Love. 
The people of this country are free, said one boy ; but 
it is not governed by love. I am not talking of politi- 
cal government, said Mr. Alcott. When we love good, 
and are left to do what we please, do we do right or 
wrong? We do right, said a boy of five, if we love 
right. Who acted very wrong yesterday afternoon, 
said Mr. Alcott, when I was unwell, and did not come 
to the school-room? Many stood up. You are not 
moral ; your goodness depends on another ; you are 
weathercocks ; you have no principle ; neither love, 
which is the law of liberty, nor conscience, governs 
you : is all that true ? Most thought it was. Are you 
trustworthy ? No. So your goodness depends on the 
presence of Mr. Alcott ? Yes. Who think the law of 
force sliould be brought to bear on you ? . Many did. 
You know a thief is shut up because he abuses liberty ? 
Yes. 

Mr. Alcott then told the youngest boy in the class 
to go and touch the heads of all who, as he thought, 
would do right, if all punishment, all outward laws, &c., 
could be done away. He went and touched five heads, 
with excellent judgment. Mr. Alcott said, I believe 



224 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

all the best heads have been touched but one. Ho. 
looked j^uzzled, and went to several who were next 
best. Mr. Alcott said, No, and it is no matter. He 
went to his seat. All the boys smiled at his imcon- 
sciousness, and one said. That is real. 

Mr. Alcott then said, To-day we talk of Insight. 
What is insight? Insight is looking into ourselves, 
said one. By what power do we look into ourselves ? 
said Mr. Alcott. By insight, said another. Insight, 
said Mr. Alcott, is the spirit seeing itself; and seeing 
the outward world in spirit. Which of you have gone 
inward and viewed yourselves ; seen Avith the spirit, and 
into spirit ? None held up hands. 

Who among you ever dream? All held up their 
hands. Are your eyes closed when you dream ? Yes. 
Do your ears hear any sounds ? No. Who has shed 
tears in sleep ? Some. How did you hear, what did 
you see, when you saw and heard nothing outward^ 
and yet shed tears in your dreams ? Things seemed to 
hap23cn, said one. Where do you think your mind was, 
when yom- eyes and ears were closed, and yet you saw 
and heard, and laughed and cried ? A Uttle boy said, 
My spirit was in God; my heart and soul and mind 
were in me, and — (he hesitated and said. Oh, Mr. 
Alcott !) Very well, said Mr. Alcott, smiling ; that 's 
enough. Who can answer that question? One said, 
Our minds left us ; and God was within us. Is he more 
within us when we are asleep than when we are awake ? 
said Mr. Alcott. Sometimes. After some more talk, 
the boy illustrated, thus : I have had the nightmare. 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 225 

and wanted to kill somebody, but thought it was wrong, 
though I was asleep. 

Mr. Alcott spoke of the bad dreams of a glutton and 
intemperate man, and asked the children if they ever 
had bad dreams. He said that some people had bad* 
dreams because they had sick bodies ; sometimes these 
sick bodies were their own fault ; sometimes they were 
inherited from faulty ancestors. (Some boys were 
sent out.) One boy's idea about dreaming was, that 
bad dreams came partly from bad minds, and partly 
from not having well bodies ; generally the last. Mr. 
Alcott said that illness of body w^as to be ascribed to 
wrong-doing somewhere ; and sometimes it was igno- 
rant wrong-doing of our own or our ancestors. A good 
deal of talk arose, and some anecdotes were told. 

Mr Alcott here read a dream from the Bible ; it was 
the beautiful one in Job. He then read the dream of 
Jacob ; and, after some conversation on its meaning, he 
said, Such of you as think you have an outlooking 
power, may hold up your hands. Several held up their 
hands. Who say they have not such a j^ower? 
SeveraL Why, don't you see me ? Yes. Who think 
they have such a power ? AH. Who think the power 
that looks out is deej^er than the eyes ? Several. Who 
think it is no deeper than the eyes ; that only the eye 
looks ? Several. We speak then of a power, an in- 
ward power that looks out of the eye : w^hat is it called ? 
Some said. Sight ; some said, The mind ; some said. The 
understanding ; some said. The spirit. Mr. Alcott said, 
The soul has two great faculties, Insight and Outsight. 

15 



226 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Some boys in this school have insight, and some out- 
sight; and it would be very easy to show who have 
insight, and who have outsight, in the greatest degree, 
by thinking on what subjects each answers most readily. 
But all have both classes of thoughts, in a degree, said 
he : the power of seeing shaj^es without, and seeing the 
feelings and ideas in their own souls also. 

I am going to read what St. Paul says about these 
two classes of thought, said he. And he read in j^ara- 
phrase the last part of the fourth chapter of 2d Corin- 
thians, and the first part of the fifth chapter. 

He then addressed the little girl analyzed, by name. 
What is there in the outward world that you like best, 
that you think most beautiful ? After a while she said, 
Nature. What objects in particular ? No answer. Do 
you like flowers ? Yes. Do you like running brooks ? 
Yes. Do you like the ocean ? Yes. Do you like the 
pebbles on the shore? Yes. Can you describe the 
feelings that you have when you see the ocean ; imagine 
yourself there, how should you feel ? The power, said 
she. 

A series of questions were now asked as to the com- 
parative efiect of different scenes on the feelings of the 
several children ; and some preferred ocean ; some, 
mountains ; some, rivers ; some, caverns in the earth ; 
some, cataracts ; some, shells ; some, ^stars, &g. He 
went on to ask questions which might show into what 
departments of natural history their tastes would lead 
them. He found some zoologists, some geologists, some 
botanists, some astronomers, &c. One at last remarked 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 227 

that he liked machines, engines, &c. Many other boys 
aOTeed with him. Mr. Alcott said thino-s were interest- 
ing to us, just in proportion as they seemed to be alive, 
or manifested spirit. 

The next series of questions was calculated to bring 
out what was their taste for the Arts ; and there was 
considerable variety of taste. Some were architects ; 
some, painters ; some, sculptors. 

Who think dollars and eagles are very beautiful, and 
take great delight in seeing them ? One boy said he 
took great delight in having them. 

Who like carriages and splendid equipage ? One said, 
1 like sleighs. Another said, I like to be inside of 
them. Who like beautiful clothes, dresses? None. 
Those may stand up who would not play with beggar 
boys, even if they were good, because of their looks. 
Several rose, and Mr. Alcott said that many of those 
who were standing up would make the beggar boys 
worse probably ; so it was very well. Who would play 
with beggar boys if they were good? Several rose 
with great emphasis. Who would not play with col- 
ored boys if they were ever so good and well in- 
structed ? The same boys rose as did at first. I am 
afraid your minds are colored with prejudices, said 
Mr. Alcott ; and that you would darken their minds 
with your faults ; so it is very well. The rest laughed, 
and, when those sat down, rose up and said they would 
play witli black boys, if they had cultivated minds. 

What if you were blind, and could not look out upon 
things at all ; would there be any thing left to make 



228 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

you happy? He said this to the httle girl analyzed. 
Yes, inward things, said the little girl. What inward 
things? Thoughts, feelings, a good conscience, &c., 
were named. Who are most truly blind, those who 
cannot see inward things, or those Avho cannot see out- 
ward things? Those who cannot see inward things. 
You know when we talked awhile ago, we said some- 
thing about a net. Outward things, perhaps, form a 
net which catches our minds sometimes. Perhaps some 
of you are caught. I should like to see one person 
caught, said a little boy. Should you, said Mr. Alcott, 
like to see a boy whose eyes and ears are so caught by 
outward things that his mind is all taken up and 
never looks inward? Yes. Well, there he is, said 
Mr. Alcott, holding a looking-glass before him. 

He then turned again to the little girl. Which 
power had you better use, the power of outsight or of 
insight? Insight. Why? Because it sees the real 
things. What are those things which the outsight 
sees ? Shadows of real things. Now each one think, 
said Mr. Alcott, what idea have you gained from this 
conversation? One said. Insight is better than out- 
sight. Another said, Inward things are better than 
outward things. Is that an idea in your head, or a feel- 
ing in your heart. I don't know, said she. 

Suppose you saw a man born into this beautiful 
world, and all his life long he was running round to 
catch bubbles, every one of which broke in his hand. 
They all laughed. Or a man running after his shadow ; 
and he went on with several similar analoiries which 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 229 

made them Laugh. Such are the j^ersons, he said, who 
live for outward things instead of inward things. 

Who say play is a bubble? Some held up their 
hands. But play is a very proper exercise in its place. 
Who say pleasure is a bubble? All held up their 
hands. Yet it is a bubble that it is innocent to look at 
a little. Is love a bubble ? No. Is happiness ? No. 
Is the soul ? No. Is heaven ? No. Is immortality ? 
No. Who say they have no doubt about inward 
things, but about outward things there is an uncer- 
tainty ? Several did. 

Mr. Alcott then said, We will close with some words 
of Jesus, — words which he uttered when he lived in a 
body like ours : Lay not up for yourselves treasures on 
earth, where moth and rust do corrupt, and thieves 
break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves 
treasures in heaven (in the inward world), where moth 
and rust do not corruj^t, nor thieves break through 
and steal. 

GENERAL SUEVET OF THE A:N"ALTSIS. 

Mr. Alcott called the class to analysis, for the last 
time. He said w^e had now gone through the scale, 
but it had often been changed since we began, for 
almost every week had imjiroved it. He then drew 
their attention to the one which was now on the 
blackboard, and said that the arrangement only was 
altered ; for the same subjects Avere brought up by both 
scales. 

We began with love, and then went to faith; and 



230 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

then to conscience, speaking of obedience, temptation, 
and will ; and then to the appetites, affections, and 
aspirations of the soul ; and then we went to the mind, 
and spoke of imagination, judgment, and insight. To- 
day I intend to talk a little more about insight ; and I 
shall read what Jesus Christ says about it. He says 
we should not strive to get outward things which 
may be stolen and corrupted ; but we should strive 
to get things within, which cannot be taken away, 
because they are God's; for what we love will take 
up all our exertions. 

He here stopped, and said that one of the boys in this 
school had said that he did not know, before he came 
to this school, that he had inward eyes ; but now he 
felt that they were open. They began to guess who it 
was, but they did not guess the right one. Mr. Alcott 
said that some of them, when they came, were blind, 
were in midnioht. And then he went on readinsf dif- 
ferent passages of the Gospels. He ended with. The 
light of the body is the eye ; what eye ? This eye, 
said a little boy of five. That is the body's eye : what 
is the spirit's eye ? That eye which can see every thing 
that it wants to see, and which can see God ; the body's 
eye cannot see what it wants to, but the sjiirit's eye 
can ; and, Mr. Alcott, I think that when we are asleep 
the spirit goes out of the body, and leaves the body 
dead ; and by and by it goes back again, and makes 
the body alive again. But is the body entirely dead 
in sleep ? said Mr. Alcott. Why, perhaps a little spirit 
stays in the body to keep it alive. But almost all the 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 2?.l 

spirit goes out, and sees and hears with its inward eyes 
and ears ; and that is dreaming. 

Now let us take a survey of the wliolc, said Mr. 
Alcott. Such of you as think that the spirit acts in 
insthict may hold up their hands. No answer. As 
soon as a baby is born it cries ; it seems to be aston- 
ished to find itself in the world, amidst so many things 
it does not know, and which are so unlike itself; not 
one thing it sees, or one word that it hears, does it un- 
derstand; it cries — By instinct, interrupted one of 
the children. Yes, said Mr. Alcott ; and it moves its 
hand to take hold of the sun or fire, or whatever it 
sees ; for it does not know how far ofi* things are, or 
what will hurt, and what will not. Is there not in- 
stinct in a baby's first motions ? Yes. Does sjiirit act 
in instinct ? Yes. Does spirit act in a baby when it 
loves its mother ? Yes, a good deal, said one. Does 
spirit act in appetite ? Yes. Does spirit act when it 
sees and wants something beautiful? Yes. What is" 
that action? Aspiring. Does spirit act in thought? 
Yes; for the body cannot think. Thought, said Mr. 
Alcott, is the ladder by which spirit climbs up to 
heaven; i.e., into itself. Instinct, love, and faith go 
out from the soul. Thought goes back to the soul. 
By insight we go into the soul and see what is in our- 
selves. By judgment we compare thoughts. How 
many have insight? But a few thought they had. 
One of the most thoughtful said, A very little. Who 
do not go in for whole days ? Two boys, one a lazy 
boy of eight, another a new scholar of five, held up 



232 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

their hands. Who cannot live a week without being 
taken captive and carried into the inward or sj^iritual 
world ? No answer. 

Who, every night before they go to sleep, go inward 
and think of what is within ? Many. ' Who think of 
this over again in the morning ? Several. You know 
that Jesus said, there was a fountain in there of living 
water, which sj^rings up into everlasting life. What is 
this fountain ? The spirit. 

We talked about dreaming a good while ago : who 
among you dream? Several. Most of you dream when 
you are awake : you see things vaguely and dimly, not 
as if they all belonged together, but as if they were in 
disjointed pieces. 

How many of you think God can be discovered with 
the eyes ? None. Such as think you can see his works 
only with your body's eyes, and that he himself is to 
be found by looking within, with inward eyes, hold up 
your hands. All did. How many of you look within 
enouo'h to know a p;ood deal about God ? None. 
How many do not ? All. How many think it is 
hard? One indolent boy held up his hand. How 
many think an idle person can see God? Some. It 
was here found that some confounded idleness with 
repose ; when all comprehended it, they all said no idle 
person could see God ; and made the same answer to 
the questions. How many think an intemperate person 
can see God ? An obstinate-willed person ? An an- 
gry, passionate person ? A person living for the out- 
ward ? A lia^i', deceiver ? There was some talk about 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 233 

the difference of liking truth in others, because it is 
convenient to ourselves, and loving it so as to speak 
and act it. Who think that those Avho love truth 
will probably know most of God ? All. Who think 
that those who deny themselves, who try to control 
their feelings, even their love, will know most of God ? 
All. Such as think those love God most who are will- 
ing to die and lose their body may hold up their hands. 
All did. Such as think that, to find God, we must kee-p 
all our nature in its right j^lace; that no part should 
be asleep ; that we should be like the child aspiring (he 
pointed to the cast), may hold up their hands. All. 
He then went on, making remarks on each of the 
scholars, and saying what parts of the nature of each 
he thought w^ere asleep. This took a good while ; but 
it was not lost, as it brought the subject home. 

He then spoke of the effect of the passions : how% in 
the drunkard, appetite swallows up the nature; how, 
in the avaricious, the love of riches swallows uj) the 
nature ; but wdien the spirit swallows up the nature, 
nothing is destroyed, but every j^art is strengthened 
and purified, and put in the right place. 

Who think that we must know ourselves, in order 
to know God? All. Who thinks he cannot know 
God, till he knows himself a great deal ? All. Who 
think that they can know God by studying outward 
things ? None. What are outward things ? Shadows 
of inward things, said the little girl, who was generally 
the subject of analysis. The representation of mind, 
said a boy of nine. Who was called the image of God ? 



234 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Jesus Christ, said the whole school. Yes : the outward 
world is the image of the perfect mind; and Jesus 
Christ was the image of God ; or his nature w^as all 
spirit, as he said. Who tliink that until we study 
ourselves, we cannot study outward things to much 
advantage ? Many. 

Mr. Alcott then remarked that some naturalists who 
never studied themselves, but studied outward things, 
did not believe in spirit ; and some who believed in 
spirit, did not think it was the most important. Others 
have gone out into the outward world, thinking it a 
shadow of the inward, and followed on until they found 
the sjmit that was in themselves, and God. One boy 
said, If I study botany, can I go on from it and find 
God ? Mr. Alcott explained, but I could not hear him, 
as he walked to a place, where he stood with his back 
to me. Some remarks were made on the Free Inquir- 
ers, calculated to produce charitable feelings towards 
the honest among them. 

What have these analysis lessons taught you ? To 
know ourselves. Yes : your inward selves, your spirit. 
Perhaps, some time next winter, I shall get some one, 
who knows such things better than I do, to come and 
teach you about the human body, — your outward 
selves: how your eyes are formed and adapted for 
sight; and your ears for hearing; and your stomach 
for digestion. Who will like to hear this ? All held 
up their hands. Which do you think you should like 
best, to hear about the construction of your bodies, or 
about your sim-its? Spirits. You prefer to talk of 



SELF-ANALYSIS. 235 

inward things rather than outward things ? Yes. 
Who think the analysis has taught you a good deal 
about yourselves ? All. Who think it has taught you 
a o-ood deal about the meanins: of AYords ? All. I 
intend you shall learn outward things too : I shall get 
people to come and tell you about many outward 
things, which I do not know much about myself. I 
can teach better about the inward things. Next 
quarter I am going to teach you about inward things, 
not in yourselves, but in another, — a Perfect Being. 
In Jesus Christ ? asked some. Yes : we will study 
Jesus Christ ; how many will be glad to do this ? 
They all held up their hands.* How many have 
learned something from the analysis, — they are very 
sure, they know it ? Almost all held up their hands. 
How many are sorry these lessons are over ? Several. 
Some said they were glad the next subject was coming. 

* These were the Conversations on the Gospels, subsequently 
published in two volumes. A selection of the best of these con- 
versations, in an edition of one volume, is called for now. 



IV. 

CONCLUSION, 

TN the first edition of this work, I introduced a chap- 
■^ ter on the General Principles of Education, with 
an attempt to answer the question whether the human 
germ of never-ending existence be matter, — insensate, 
untliinking, involuntary, finite, lifeless matter ; of which 
sensation, thought, volition, are mere modes, like form ; 
or results of motion, like sound; and to which the 
Creator may superadd, as an attribute, eternal life. 
Or if it be, of itself. Life, from the fountain of life ; 
feeling, thinking, willing, acting, by the same necessity 
of nature by which God loves, knows, creates; and to 
which matter is but a temporary accident. 

It was rather hazardous, perhaps presumptuous, to 
endeavor to give analytic definition of that portion of 
our consciousness which, as it comes to us not by in- 
duction from the outward, but by intuition, almost 
defies exj^ression. Those who have gone most deeply 
into this spiritual region have never attempted to 
do more than approximate the subject, as it were, 
through an address to the imagination. But there 
are persons who seem to think that the action of the 
imagination is not the embodiment of truth, but is 
pure fiction. 

They sujipose that Socrates meant by his demon a 



CONCLUSION. 237 

person who was not Socrates ; that Phito meant by tlie 
soul's remmiscences j^re-existent individuals, and that 
Christians deny the Christ when they find that salva- 
tion consists in the perfection of their own souls. If 
these are told that such is not the interpretation of 
these expressions, they straightway take the idea that 
then they are words without any meaning whatever. 
It was to this class of minds I intended to speak, and 
to endeavor to convey, in language which I thought 
would be more to their taste, the idea that the soul's 
very life consists in its action ; that there is not, over 
and above the soul's life, conscience, intellect, affec- 
tions, happiness, virtue, salvation, — but that the soul 
has its substantial existence in these various modes and 
degrees of action, and that to educate the soul is to 
make common cause with its action ; to think, love, 
hope, desire, in short, live in companionship with it. 

But some to whom I wished to speak find no mean- 
ing in my words ; and others smile at what seems to 
them the absurdity of attempting to reach a class of 
minds that will not take the trouble to find out within 
themselves what Socrates, Plato, and Jesus meant by 
their beautiful emblems. With the latter class of critics, 
I am myself inclined to agree ; and confess that I should 
not have attempted, with my small powers, to depart 
from the symbolical expression, which the wise of all 
ages have agreed to be the only appropriate mode of 
conveying spiritual facts ; and have gone into the shal- 
lows of analytic definition. 

But as I feel no less confidence than ever in the truths 



238 BECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

which I there attempted to explain, on omitting this 
chapter, whose expressions are judged on all hands to 
be so inadequate, I will make another eflbrt to convey 
my ideas, by inserting in its place part of a conversation 
that I once Jield with a class of children under four- 
teen years of age, in a charity Sunday school, which 
did not seem to be a failure at the time; and which 
contains, perhajDS, the whole practical philosophy of the 
matter. 

I began with what is to me a very natural question 
when beginning to instruct in Sun-day school : — 

What is a soul ? 

It is what thinks, replied a child of eight years. 

Has a little baby, just born, any soul? 

Little babies must have souls, or they would not go 
to heaven when they die, said all. 

Well, what is the soul of a baby ; is it what thinks ; 
or is it thin stuff, something like vapor or air ; or is it 
— feelings ? I spoke this question very deliberately. 

Feelings, said all with decision. 

What feelings — what kind of feelings has a baby ? 

Happy feelings, sa'd a sweet child of ten years old. 

Yes, happiness ; and is there nothing else ? does not 
a baby seem to wish to be loved, and does it not seem 
to love ? 

Yes, it is loving j and that is one reason it is hapj^y. 

But does a baby believe any thing ? 

It does not know any thing to believe, said one. 

We are not sure of that : don't you remember Jesus 



CONCLUSION. 239 

Christ said, "Their angels always behold the face of 
my Father in heaven " ? Perhaps they knoAV God ! * 

Babies seem to believe, said another, that people 
will be kind to them and love them. 

You know a baby's soul, after it comes into the body, 
seems to lie still and enjoy itself, — i.e., its happiness, 
love, and faith for a good while, — but at last it begins to 
look out of its eyes, to see people and things about it. 

It seems to have confidence in every thing, said one. 

Yes : faith grows out of love and happiness. But 
does it know about people and things out of itself, so 
as to choose right in loving and having confidence ? 

No. 

Do not some things seem to disa23point it ? 

Yes. 

Perhaps it judges by what it feels within, and when 
it does not find love and happiness outside as well as 
within, it gets pain and terror : are all people worthy 
of love and confidence ? 

No. 

And the baby may make mistakes ? 

Yes. 

Does it know what will make it happy ? 

No. 

How does it find out ? 

After a pause, one replied: Sometimes it does not 
find out. 

* This — as I have since heard — is the first postulate of the 
philosophy of Gioberti ; aud hence perhaps his works were put on 
the Index by the Pope. 



240 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

Very true ; it is the work of life to find out : have 
you found out ? 

This home question silenced them, and I asked : Do 
you think, if you had always been treated with love, 
and always had thought others were trying to make 
you hapi3y, you should ever have been discontented, or 
have feared or have disliked anybody ? 

No, said all. 

Discontent then, and fear and hate, were no j^art of 
your soul at first ? 

No. 

And if you should lose all such feelings, would it 
destroy your soul ? 

No : it would make it better ; as good as it was at 
first. 

Well, now tell me, do you think it is possible that 
you should lose all your desire of being loved, and all 
your love, all your happiness, and desire or even expec- 
tations of haj^piness ? 

After a pause for thought, they decided unanimously 
that they could not. 

But you might lose your bad feelings, and your soul 
would be left ? 

Yes. 

Then your love, happiness, and faith are your soul 
itself? 

Yes. 

And discontent, hatred, fear, do not seem to be your 
soul itself, but disorders and diseases of your soul ? 

Yes. 



CONCLUSION. 241 

Each of you began, like any other little babies, with 
being happy, loving, and believing : have you ever 
made any mistakes ; loved what could not love you ; 
desired what could not make you happy ; believed 
what was not true ? 

Yes, a thousand times, said several. 

Will not a person who constantly makes these mis- 
takes at last grow discontented, unloving, fearful, and 
full of doubts ? 

Yes. 

And cannot you imagine a soul that seeks for happi- 
ness in so many wrong ways that after a while it be- 
comes discouraged ? 

Yes. 

And supposing a person loves one bad person after 
another, and finds them out, one by one, to be bad: 
don't you think, at last, he will doubt whether there is 
goodness any^vhere ? 

"We know God is good. 

How do we know that God is good? 

The Bible says so. 
, How did the Bible j^eople find it out ? 

God told them. 

How ? was it in the same w^ay as Christ says, their 
angels beheld the Father when they w^ere babies ? He 
says in another place, " The pure in heart see God." 

I do not remember of seeing God, said one. 

Not the form or image of God, which you have in 
your imagination now perhaps ; and not the name of 
God, which you certainly did not know till you began 



242 RECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

to use your ears ; but you may have felt his character, 
and it was that, perhaps, that made your first feehngs 
happy, loving, and confidential. Your feelings remem- 
ber God, for you are very sure God is good ; and that 
is a very difierent thing from your head's remembering a 
name. Conscience, hope, and the ideals of the imagi- 
nation, that '* spring eternal in the human breast," are 
the remembrance of God's character. I dare say when 
you act according to conscience you feel all is right, 
and as if you had got home again to God, after being 
away. 

This conversation was applied to their duties. They 
all had the care of infants and little children, although 
they were themselves so young; for thus it is in the 
families of the poor, when parents are obliged to go 
out to work. Adverting to what they had said, of 
babies seeming to expect people would be kind to them 
and love them, I remarked how difierent babies were 
in this respect from animals, who began with being 
afraid of every thing ; and I remarked that if babies 
did " behold the Father," it was no wonder they believed 
in kindness and love ; had confidence and faith in 
others ; and that it was so long before a child could 
get so completely frightened by its pains that its faith 
would not kindle up at a smile, which is God's image 
in the face. They all recognized the fact that babies 
do not begin to be afraid until they are many months 
old, unless they have a great deal of pain ; and they 
seemed to take the idea very comjiletely, of how im- 
portant it must be to watch them, when they could 



CONCLUSION. 243 

not speak, in order to understand what influence we 
were having over their little minds ; and how careful 
we ought to be, that they should not suffer from neglect 
and carelessness before they could think or understand, 
lest doubt and. fear should take the place of love and 
faith in their dispositions. I told them anecdotes of 
children who used to cry unaccountably; of one who 
was found, after many months, to have been afraid of 
the rough feel oi broadcloth; and another, of whatever 
was black ; and how a wise care and tenderness should 
see that the little soul be not exposed to distress and 
shocks, which might lay the foundations of feeble-mind- 
edness, scepticism, and fear of the unknown : but how 
every thing should be done to strengthen and cherish 
that feeling of God's character, without which it would 
be of no use to know God's name. 

It may seem to some persons rather out of place to 
bring philosophy to bear upon taking care of babies. 
But here is the starting point of education. And Mr. 
Alcott does not disdain to let his thoughts begin at the 
beginning ; since so did Christ. "Whosoever offendeth 
one of these little ones, it were better for him that a 
millstone were hung about his neck, and he were cast 
into the uttermost depths of the sea." The principles 
growing out of the few primal facts of human nature, 
which are -stated above, carried out into the whole 
education, — this is Mr. Alcott's system. He would 
teach children to discriminate spiritual happiness from 
that bodily ease and enjoyment which too often takes 



244 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

its place ; to cherish the principle of love, by feeding it 
on beauty and good, and not on illusion ; and to clarify 
and strengthen faith, by getting knowledge in the right 
way, — not by accumulation, but by growth. For there 
is something at the foundation of the human soul 
analogous to the organization of a plant, which does 
indeed feed on the earth from which it springs, the air 
in w^hich it flourishes, the light of heaven which comes 
upon it from afar; but which admits nothing that it 
cannot assimilate to itself We may assist a plant if 
we will study its nature; but there are things which 
might be put round one plant which would destroy 
another. And so w^e may assist a soul; but there is 
only one way. We must study its nature ; we must 
ofier the individual those elements alone which it 
needs, and at the time it needs them, and never too 
much, and always enough. Then we shall find that 
each soul has a form, a beauty, a purpose of its own. 
And we shall also find that there are a few general 
conditions never to be shut out : that, as the light of 
heaven, the warmth of earth, and space to expand, are 
necessary to the plants, — so knowledge of God, the 
sympathy of human love, and liberty to act fi'om 
within outward, are indispensable to the soul. 



V. 

EXPLANATORY* 

'TPO contemplate spirit in the Infinite Being has ever 
-*- been acknowledged to be the ground of true re- 
ligion. Tp contemplate spirit in external nature is 
universally allowed to be the true science. To con- 
template spirit in ourselves, and in our fellow-men, is 
obviously the means of understanding social duty, and 
quickening within ourselves a wise humanity. In 
general terms, contemplation of spirit is the first 
principle of human culture, the foundation of self- 
education. 

This principle Mr. Alcott begins with applying to 
the education of the youngest children, considering 
early education as a leading of the young mind to self- 
education. 

But it is not i3retended that it is peculiar to the 
system of education developed in the succeeding jjages 
to aim at the contemplation of spirit, at least in theory. 
But perhaps it will be admitted that Mr. Alcott is 
somewhat peculiar in the fiiith which he puts in this 
principle, or in his fearless and persevering application 
of it, and especially in his not setting the child to look 

* As ray attempt to explain the general principles of Mr. Al- 
cott's system in the first edition did not succeed, I made an Explan- 
atory Preface to the second edition, which I here insert as the last 
chapter. 



246 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

for spirit, ^rs^, in the vast and varied field of external 
nature, as seems to be the sole aim of common educa- 
tion. For in common education, as is well known, the 
attention is primarily and principally directed to the 
part of language which consists of the names of out- 
ward things; as well as to books which scientifically 
class and explain them, or which narrate events in a 
matter-of-fact manner. 

One would think that there has been proof enough 
that this common plan is a bad one, in the universally 
acknowledged difficulty of making children study those 
things to which they are first j^ut, without artificial 
stimulus; also in the absolute determination with 
which so many fine minds turn aside from word-knowl- 
edge and dry science, to play and fun, and to whatever 
interests the imagination or heart ; and, finally, in the 
very small amount of acquisition which, after all the 
pains taken, is generally laid up, from school-days. 
Besides, is it not a priori absurd? Is not external 
nature altogether too vast a field for the eye of child- 
hood to command ? And is it not impossible for the 
mind to discover the spirit in unity, unless the field is, 
as it were, commanded ? The result of the attempt 
has generally been that no spiritual culture has taken 
place at school. In most cases, the attention has been 
bewildered, discouraged, or dissipated by a variety of 
objects; and in the best cases the mind has become 
one-sided and narrow, by being confined to some par- 
ticular department. Naturalists are apt to be full of 
oddities. 



EXPLANATORY, 247 

Instead, therefore, of making it his aim to make chil- 
dren investigate external natm-e after spirit, Mr. Alcott 
leads them, in the first place, to tlie contemplation of 
spirit as it unveils itself within themselves. He thinks 
there is no intrinsic difficulty in doing this, inasmuch 
as a child can as easily perceive and name pleasure, 
pain, love, anger, hate, and any other exercises of soul 
to which himself is subjected, as he can see the objects 
before his eyes ; and thus a living knowledge of that 
part of language Avhich expresses intellectual and moral 
ideas, and involves the study of his own consciousness 
of feelings and moral laAV, may be gained, external 
nature being chiefly made use of as imagery, to express 
tl^e inward life which he exi^eriences. Connected with 
this self-contemplation, and constantly checking any 
narrowing effect of egotism or self-complacency which 
it may be supposed to engender, is the contemplation 
of God, that can so easily be associated with it. For 
as the word finite gives meaning to the word infinite^ 
so the finite virtue always calls up in the mind an idea 
which is henceforth named and becomes an attribute 
of the Eternal Spirit. Thus a child, having felt what a 
just action is, either in himself or another, henceforth 
has an idea of justice, which is pure and perfect in the 
same ratio as he is unsophisticated ; and is more and 
more comprehensive of particular apj^lications as liis 
reason unfolds. How severe and pure it often is in a 
child, thousands have felt. 

So when a cause is named, the First Cause becomes 
the unmediate object of inquiry. Who taught the hen 



248 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

to lay its Qgg ? said a little boy to his mother. The 
hen's mother, was the reply. Who taught the hen's 
mother? That mother had a mother. But who taught 
the first hen that ever laid an egg in the world ? he 
exclaimed impatiently. This child had never heard of 
God. What mother or nurse will not recognize that 
this is the way children talk ? It is proverbial that 
children ask questions so deep that they cannot be 
answered. The perception of the finite seems with 
them to be followed immediately by a plunge into the 
infinite. A wise observer will see this, even through 
the broken language of infancy, and often through its 
voiceless silence. And a deep reasoner on such facts 
will see that a plan of education founded on the idea 
of studying spirit in their own consciousness, and in 
God, is one that will meet children just where they 
are, much more than will the common plan of pursu- 
ing the laws of Nature, as exhibited in movements of 
the external world. 

But some say that the philosophy of the spirit is a 
disputed philosophy; that the questions — what are its 
earliest manifestations upon earth, and what are the 
means and laws of its growth — are unsettled ; and 
therefore it is not a subject for dogmatic teaching. 

Mr. Alcott replies to this objection that his teaching 
is not dogmatic ; that nothing more is assumed by him 
than that spirit exists, bearing a relation to the body 
in which it is manifested analogous to the relation 
which God bears to the external creation. And it is 
only those persons who are spiritual so fiir as to admit 



EXPLANATORY, 249 

this, whom he expects to place children under his 

care. 

At this point his dogmcatic teaching ends; and here 
he takes up the Socratic mode. He begins with ask- 
ing questions upon the meanings of the words which 
the children use in speaking, and which they find in 
their spelling-lessons, requiring illustrations of them in 
sentences composed or remembered. This involves the 
study of spirit. He one day began Avith the youngest 
of thirty scholars to ask illustrations of the word brute / 
and there were but three Uteral answers. A brute was 
a man who killed another ; a drunken man ; a man who 
beat his wife; a man without any love; but it was 
always a man. In one instance it was a boy beating 
a dog. Which is the brute, said Mr. Alcott, the boy 
or the dog? The boy, said the little girl, with the 
o-ravest face. This case indicates a general tendency 
of childhood, and is an opening therefore for speaking 
of the outward as the sign of the inward, and for mak- 
ing all the reading and spelling lessons exercises for 
defining and illustrating words. The lessons on lan- 
guage, given in the Record, have generally been ad- 
mitted to be most valuable. Most persons seem to be 
struck with the advantages necessarily to be derived 
from the habit of inquiring into the history of words 
from their material origin, and throughout the spiritual 
applications of them which the imagination makes. 

It is true that one person, in leading such an exer- 
cise, may sometimes give a cast to the whole inquiry, 
throuo'h the influence of his own idiosyncrasies and 



250 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

favorite doctrines ; and Mr. Alcott's definitions may 
not be defensible in every instance. I am not myself 
prepared to say that I entirely trust his associations. 
But he is so successful in arousing the activity of the 
children's own minds, and he gives such free scope to 
their associations, that his personal peculiarities are 
likely to have much less influence than those of most 
instructors. Not by any means so much objection 
could be made to his school on this account as can be 
made to Johnson's Dictionary ; for the manner in which 
the words are studied and talked about in school is 
such that the children must be j^erpetually reminded 
that nothing connected with spiritual subjects can be 
finally settled into any irreversible formula of doctiine, 
by finite and unperfected minds; excepting, perhaps, 
the two moral precepts, on which hang the law and the 
prophets. 

Some objections have been made, however, to the 
questionings upon consciousness, of which specimens 
are given in the lessons on self-analysis. It is said that 
their general tendency must be to produce egotism. 
This might be, if, in self-analysis, a perfect standard 
were not always kept before the mind by constant refer- 
ence to Jesus Christ as the " truth of our nature ; " and 
by means of that generalizing tendency, which I have 
noticed before, which always makes children go from 
finite virtue to the idea of the perfect. We have found 
the general influence of the lessons on self-analysis to 
be humbling to the self-conceited and vain, though they 
have also encouraged and raised up the depressed and 



EXPLANATORY. 251 

timid in one or two instances. The objection seems 
to me to have arisen from taking the word self in a 
too limited signification. The spirit within is what is 
meant by self when considered as an object of philo- 
sopliical investigation. I think that the lessons would 
more apj^ropriately have been styled analysis of hu- 
man nature than self-analysis ; for, excepting the first 
one, they were of a very general character, and con- 
stantly became more so, in their progress. Yet the 
impression of that first lesson is very probably the 
strongest on the mind of many readers. It consisted 
of a series of questions, calculated to bring out the 
strongest and most delicate sentiments of the individual 
soul. Testing questions were asked, which placed the 
child in the painful alternative of claiming the spirit 
of martyrdom, or denying her sincere aftections for 
beloved friends. I believe there was no untruth told, 
and no self-exaltation felt, and consequently no harm 
done, in the particular instance ; but I will admit that 
it was too much an analysis of the individual, and 
should certainly agree with those who tliink that the 
effect of such a course might ultimately be to dwarf or 
dissipate, and j^erhaps to corrupt them, by forcing an 
expression of sentiments strictly personal. If there is 
one object more than another to which may be aj^plied 
Wordsworth's beautiful lines, — 

" Our meddling intellect 
Misshapes the beauteous forms of things, 
We murder to dissect/' 

it is to the j)ersonalities of the soul. 



252 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

The instinctive delicacy with which chiklren veil 
their deepest thoughts of love and tenderness for rela- 
tives, and their reasonable self-gratnlations, should not 
be violated, I think, in order to gain knowledge, or for 
any imagined benefit to others. Indeed, no knowledge 
can be gained in this way. It would be as wise to tear 
the rosebud open, or invade the solitude of the chrysalis, 
with the hope of obtaining insight into the j^rocess of 
bloom or metamorphosis, as to expect to gain any 
knowledge of the soul by drawing forth, by the per- 
sonal power which an instructor may possess over the 
heart, conscience, or imagination, that confidence which 
it is the j^recious prerogative of an individual to bestow 
spontaneously when old enough to choose its depos- 
itory. And Mr. Alcott, I believe, agrees with me in 
this, notwithstanding that he practically goes some- 
times upon the very verge of the rights of reserve, as 
in the instance referred to. He doubted immediately 
whether that first lesson Avas wise, and materially 
changed the character of his questioning afterwards ; 
and an attentive reader will observe that questions of 
the same kind were not repeated after the first day. 
But I felt bound in conscience to put into the Record 
every thing that transpired during that Avinter, and to 
present even the exercises that were afterwards mod- 
ified ; because I had called my book the Record of the 
actual School. I expected, however, that it would be 
read in the liberal sj^irit a work on such a plan re- 
quired ; and that the general character of the exercises 
would be regarded, rather than the peculiarities of any 



EXPLANATORY. 253 

one lesson, and especially of an introductory one, on 
entirely new ground. 

But what I have said of the rights of reserve does 
not resj^ect all that is in the soul. There are relations 
and sentiments which regard objects of common interest 
to all souls ; such as God, Jesus Christ, Jhe human race 
as such, and duties in the abstract. These are fliir sub- 
jects of questioning, with the affections appertaining to 
them, and there is a great good, which may arise from 
the consciousness of these sentiments in each individual 
being analyzed and discriminated, and the relations 
themselves being discussed in a large company, all of 
whom share them, and the duties which spring from 
them. For so all narrowness and peculiar associations 
have a chance to be exchanged for something more 
enlarged, and the clearer reason of some may aid the 
dimmer apprehension of others, less favored by nature 
or education. And, in this case, there is no fear, as has 
sometimes been suggested, of the mind's being dwarfed. 
It may and will take narrow views, comparatively with 
Truth itself; but the danger is less, if this subject is first 
apprehended in childhood, than if it is approached for 
the first time at a later age. For in childhood the sense 
of Justice, and the sentiment of the Good and Beau- 
tiful, have not yet lost the holiness and divine balance 
of innocence, or the glow and impulse first received 
from the Divine Being, who projected the individual 
soul into time and space, there to clothe itself with 
garments, by wliich it may see itself, and be seen by its 
fellow-beings. 



254 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

This view of childliood's comprehension is confirmed 
by all who hnve had much to do with cultivating the 
minds of children. Madame Neckar de Saussure, in 
her work on "Progressive Education," says that the 
younger children are, the more exclusively they are 
moral beings ; a position which she defends with much 
fine remark, replete with her usual practical good sense. 
The phrenologists declare that conscientiousness is, 
generally speaking, larger in proportion in children 
than in adults (what a satire is this fact, if it be a fact, 
on our modes of education !) ; and, lastly, Jesus Christ 
always spoke of childhood as having peculiar moral 
sympathies ; being of the kingdom of heaven, &c. 

There is, however, one way in which there is some 
danger of dwarfing the minds of children on these sub- 
jects. It is this. As it is sometimes necessary to imag- 
ine or refer to 23ractical applications of principles, and 
to outward occasions of sentiments, in order to identify 
them, we are liable to present cases which are not en- 
tirely comprehensible by children who can perfectly 
realize the principle or sentiment, either in their own 
consciousness, or in application to a case whose terms 
they do understand. And Mr. Alcott may sometimes 
err in selecting his instances of application. But I think 
it is very rarely that he does. 

The contemplation of spirit in God is necessarily 
wrapt up in a study of language, leading to the study 
of the soul, whose existence, sentiments, reason, and 
strength of will are God's gifts of spirit. But Mr. 
Alcott did not intend to confine himself to such allu- 



EXPLANATOliY. 255 

sions to Jesus Christ as are found in the Record. Hav- 
ing arranged the four Gospels into a continuous story, 
to illustrate the career of spirit on earth, he read them 
with conversations ; and he expects to prove that this 
mode of studying spirit is peculiarly within the reach 
of childhood, and particularly congenial to its holy 
instincts, strong sympathies, ready imagination, and un- 
sophisticated reason. In this, as in all his other question- 
ings, his plan is a perfectly liberal one. After reading 
the lesson for the day, he asks for their own associations 
with words, their impressions of events, the action of 
their imagination, and the conclusions of their reason 
upon them. All sides of every subject are presented 
by the various children, and dwelt upon, at least until 
they are fully expressed ; and there the subject is left, 
Mr. Alcott making no further decision upon what is 
said than can be derived from the paraphrase with 
wdiich he generally closes, and which he makes on the 
inq^ulse of the moment. He does not wish the children 
to think that the meaning of Scripture is a matter of 
authority ; and this is the chief reason why he does not 
decide in favor of particular views, dogmatically. He 
thinks it is enough to start the mind on some subjects, 
to " wake the echo that will not sleep again," and lays 
out to guard them from error, rather by the general 
influences of his moral and intellectual discipline than 
by giving them the formulas of any creed. So success- 
ful has he proved to be, in avoiding controverted points, 
and keeping free from the technology of sect, that one 
day, when two ladies — one a Trinitarian, and the other 



256 RECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

a Hamaiiitarian — were present at a lesson on the first 
chapter of John, each left the room, saying to Mr. 
Alcott, " I perceive that my views are taught here." 

Before dismissing this part of the subject, however, 
let me notice one thing, which is very extensively said ; 
namely, that Mr. Alcott goes further, in his dogmatics, 
than to teach the existence of spirit in that relation to 
the body which the Deity holds to the creation ; for 
that he teaches the Oriental doctrine of pre-existence 
and emanation. 

But this is not the case. Mr. Alcott indeed believes 
that birth is a sj^iritual act and fact prior to embodi- 
ment. And does not every one believe this, who does 
not think the soul of an individual the temperament of 
a body, the eifect of matter? For my own part, I 
believe that this is the only way of conceiving the unity 
of a spirit ; and that it is the pre-existence meant in 
Wordsworth's ode on Immortality, and that which Plato 
himself meant to teach ; and that it certainly is the 
doctrine of Christianity taught by Jesus Christ. But 
even this doctrine Mr. Alcott has never tauojht dos- 
matically. It has come out spontaneously fi-om the 
children themselves, and, almost invariably, as soon as 
they come to see the divine nature of the conscience 
and the sentiments. It is entirely against the spirit of 
Mr. Alcott's plan to dogmatize even on what he be- 
lieves. Some of the children have expressed a mate- 
rialistic theory, and I would venture to say that they 
have never thought with which sect, if any, Mr. Alcott 
agrees, so entirely Socratic is his method of instruction. 



EXPLANATORY. 257 

Indeed, it is almost imjDOssible for one who has not been 
in the school to understand how truly the opinion of 
others, even that of Mr. Alcott, becomes a secondary 
object of attention, after the mind has been opened 
into the region of ideas through consciousness, by the 
key of well-iuiderstood words. Thei-e is real intellec- 
tual activity in these little minds, and a pursuit of 
truth on the true principles. This is the case, before it 
is evidenced by ready answers. It often happens that 
a child is some weeks, and even months or a year, at 
school, without saying many things ; but perfectly ab- 
' sorbed and attentive, and giving a silent vote on all 
questions so decided : at last he begins to speak, and 
almost astonishes us by his thoughts and expressions. 
The journals which the children begin to keep, as soon 
as they can join letters, also often give indications of 
attention and interest 1 efore there is much said. Mr. 
Alcott requires from all undivided attention ; excepting 
from a small class, consisting of those who do not join 
in the general exercises, but sit at a side desk, and 
read, draw, and look at pictures, while he attends to the 
large class. 

It will be granted that the general influence of 
studying language, consciousness, and the life of Christ, 
for the manifestations of spirit, must be favorable to 
moral culture, unless there is something very forced 
about it ; and the Record of a School Avill probably 
convince any impartial reader that it can be done very 
easily and naturally by such an instructor as Mr. Alcott. 
Speculating and talking about the moral nature has, of 

17 



2o8 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

itself, a tendency to place it u23pei'most in the mind ; 
since there is an inward feeling, which raises the moral 
part of our nature above the intellectual and instinctive, 
whenever they are all brought into comparison. But 
this is not enough ; especially where there is no dog- 
matic teaching. Thought should ever be accompanied 
with appropriate action. Mr. Alcott rests his chief 
dependence for the moral culture of his pupils upon the 
moral discipline to which he subjects them. He makes 
every day's duties the means of illustrating every day's 
.speculations; and vice versa. 

But some of his methods of discipline have been 
questioned. Before I had had an opportunity of ob- 
serving their operation with my own eyes, I was my- 
self much inclined to question some of them; and 
perhaps it will be the best means of doing both him 
and myself justice, to relate my own views upon this 
subject, and the modifications they have undergone 
since I have been a spectator of his School. 

I will begin with saving that I have no doubt at all 
that, so for as regards this particular school, the meth- 
ods have been in every respect salutary, and the best 
possible for the members of it. General intelligence, 
order, self-control, and good-will have been produced 
to a degree that is marvellous to see ; especially when 
we consider that his scholars' ages range from three 
years to twelve, and none are older, and most of them 
only eight or nine years old. 

Mr. Alcott thinks a common conscience is to be cul- 
tivated in a school, and that this will be higher in all, 



EXPLANATORY. 259 

than any one conscience would be, if it were private. 
I have thought the opposite, and, pursuing my own idea 
in my o^xn school, my method has, in theory, been this* 
I have begun with every individual, by taking it for 
gi-anted, in the first place, that there is a predominating 
sense of duty. This is not artificial on my part ; for 
the germ of the principle of duty lies in every mind, I 
know ; and geuerally it is accompanied by a wish, at 
least, to follow duty. "With this I would sjTupathize, 
and let my sympathy be felt, by showing my scholars 
that I can find the wish out, even when enveloped in 
many shadows. All derelictions from duty I would 
meet with sui-prise, as accidental mistakes or indis- 
putable misfortunes, according as the fact might be ; 
and offer my advice, endeavoring to win a confidential 
exi^osure of the individual's own moral condition, as it 
appears to themselves, in order that I might wisely and 
tenderly give suitable advice. Thus would I establish 
a separate understanding with each particular scholar, 
and act the part of a religious friend to each ; while 
in general assembly no reference should be made to 
any moral wrong-doing of any one, but it be cour- 
teously and charitably taken for gTanted that all mean 
to act conscientiously and religiously. 

This plan is of very fine influence, in many respects. 
Its tendency is to break up that odious combat which 
seems to go on in many schools, where there is a strug- 
gle, as it were, for power ; the children trying how far 
they can do wrong with impunity, and the teachers 
constantly feehng obliged to keep on a watch, in order 



260 BECOBD OF A SCHOOL. 

to preserve their prerogative. Instead of this, it intro- 
duces a sentiment of discijDleship, in which the contest 
is, who shall be beforehand, — the pupils in yielding 
a willing obedience, or the teachers in giving those 
parental tokens which insure this willing obedience. 

Another tendency, no less salutary, is to produce a 
tender and respectful courtesy in the pupils towards 
each other. Conscious of being engaged in the same 
moral course, of being assisted and inspired by the 
mind of the same respected friend, who only brings 
them to think of each other on those j)oints of the 
character of each where there may be sympathy and 
understanding, they are not obliged to know any thing 
of one another which is not a ground of respect, or at 
least of moral interest. 

This method also tends to preserve all the delicate 
individualities of character, and to give appropriate 
and differing atmosphere and scope to those flowers of 
delicacy and of sensibility which, like the violets of the 
landscape, are sunbeams in the shady places of private 
life. In this connection I would also observe that 
nothing will so effectually preserve the soul from habits 
of secrecy and undue reserve, as culture of the indi- 
vidual, as such; for nothing is so favorable to frank, 
open, unsuspicious transparency of soul, expressed in 
look and manner, as never to have been wounded, or 
ridiculed, or unjustly regarded, during that impressible 
season of life when self-estimation is first forming. 
The human being was made, like every thing in the 
creation of God, for expression. To be cherished and 



EXPLANATORY. 261 

helped forward, by the respectful tenderness and gen- 
erous liberality of mind of the guardians and com- 
panions of its infancy, involves no danger of producing 
that folding up of the soul within itself Avhich is too 
often the disease of those who have within them what 
it would be a delight and a benefit for all their race to 
know. This disease, we shall find, is most frequent in 
those who have been put for education into some com- 
mon mill, whence nothing can come out without bearing 
some particular stamp and superscription, and where 
of course all individualities, all that springs from the 
wonderful depths of j^ersonality, are rigorously worn ofi^ 
or driven in. A delicate nature, in such a situationj is 
another form of a fiict I have seen in some work on 
natural history ; where it is said that the j^lants which 
grow so large and beautiful in the tropical regions, and 
come out from the beginning in a bud consisting merely 
of a naked fold, when transplanted to a cold climate, 
become dwarfed, many leaflets being arrested in their 
growth, and forced to degenerate into scales, in order 
to protect from the atmosphere the growth of the in- 
terior leaves, that the whole may not perish. So, in 
the ungenial atmosphere of unsymj^athizing guardian- 
ship or companionship, a part of the mental powers, 
intended to spread forth in beauty and fragrance, are 
forced to degenerate into mere self-defences, that all 
may not be lost. A fiistidious reserve, where it is not 
affectation, is always the effect of want of sympathy 
and intelligent apj^reciation, or of a forced intercourse 
with the rude ; and it never comes from the respectful- 



262 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

ness of the method of education which I am defending, 
but i"s prevented by it ; provided this method is 
l^ursued with good sense on the part of the instructor. 

The last good influence which I shall mention, of my 
favorite mode of procedure, is its tendency to break up 
tliat constant reference to general opinion, which is so 
apt to degenerate into subserviency to it. The mind 
that is accustomed to commune in silence with its own 
ideal is apt to forget the low views which govern the 
world ; and by this forgetfulness to be mthdrawn from 
the world's detoning influences. The soul, also, fejeling 
how far off it is from its own standard, even in its best 
estate, may be entirely unconscious of how beautiful 
and how elevated it appears to those around it; and 
thus become more and more humble, have more and 
more of the " beauty of contrition " about it, as it ad- 
vances. And what expression is there on earth, of the 
unseen and unknown heaven of character to which we 
all aspire, that is so powerful as the unconsciousness 
and humility of the holiest virtue ? 

But while I bear testimony to having found that this 
method of individual culture can be pursued in a school, 
and with all the above fine influences, I must be in- 
genuous, and also state its peculiar difficulties. 

It requires, in the first place, that the school be small 
in numbers ; for no instructor can take time to study 
out the individualities of every puj^il, and feed each 
with appropriate food, without a greater tax ujion 
thought and feeling than any individual can bear for 
many successive years. It requires, also, that the in- 



EXPLANATORY. 263 

structor should be free for the school, so as to make it 
the first object; and free also for general culture, and 
for such degree of general intercourse as there is felt a 
need for. It is not every well-disposed or well-taught 
person who is capable of the attitude of friend and 
guardian to a company of young minds. It requires, 
even more than much learning, a spirit of philosophic 
liberality, a mind of ready and various resource, and a 
heart of all-comprehending sympathies. 

But supposing the instructor is found, and the school 
is numerically within compass, it will often take years 
to get entire possession of some individuals who may 
come into it, the general influences of whose life and 
companionship out of school may not be in harmony 
with the influence exerted by the instructor. Where 
so much is aimed at, relative success alone must be 
expected ; and an instructor must not be surprised if 
every degree of want of success makes a great noise 
in the world, and there be little appreciation of the 
success actually obtained, except by the pupils them- 
selves, who will inevitably feel and acknowledge it as 
they grow older. 

When I went into Mr. Alcott's school, full of the 
above views, and rather inclined to believe that the 
method I had endeavored to pursue was the only one 
that was not absolutely wrong, my mind was forcibly 
turned to consider other modes. 

Here was a school of thirty children, mostly boys 
under ten years of age, who were creatures of instinct 
more than any thing else, with undeveloped consciences 



264 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

and minds ; but well-disposed, good-natured, and over- 
flowing with animal spirits, and all but intoxicated with 
play. It was j^lain enough that my j^lan could get no 
foothold in a school of such materials; at least until 
some other one had prepared the way. And I soon 
found that Mr. Alcott had quite a diiferent way. A 
common conscience was the first object towards which 
he aimed. And this he defended on the ground that 
the general conscience of a school would be the highest ; 
for which, also, he had some very excellent arguments. 
He said that the soul when nearest infancy was the 
purest and most moral ; that the artlessness of children 
made them exj^ress their strongest convictions, even 
when it made against themselves ; and that though the 
very young were very apt to do wrong things, they 
did not defend wrong in the abstract. From all this, 
it was to be inferred that the moral judgments of the 
majority would be higher than their conduct ; while 
those few, whose conduct was more in projjortion to 
their moral judgment, would still keep their high 
place, and occasionally throw their finer elements into 
the general conscience, which might be called the 
treasury of the school. I admitted the reasonableness 
of all this, and felt that the plan would work for the 
benefit of the worst scholars, certainly, and might work 
for the benefit of the best ; and I am bound to say that 
no evil effects to the better portion have transpired 
under my observation, quickened though it has been 
by my doubts ; and that the majority of the school 
have made moral progress, which, considering their age, 



EXPLANATORY. 265 

and the time that has transph-ed, is beyond all parallel 
in my observation. I say moral progress, and I wish 
to be understood in the largest sense of that word ; in 
which are included religious ideas, the sense of account- 
abihty, and the habit of virtuous effort. I therefore 
must acknowledge myself vanquished, so far as my 
scepticism regarded such a school as Mr. Alcott's; 
though I reserve my own opinion respecting one of a 
very limited number of girls, of an age extending from 
the time they can read to the time when girls generally 
leave school. As it is the ideal of a girl's education to 
be educated by an accomplished mother, in the sacred 
retreat of home, the nearest approach to these ckcum- 
stances is the ideal of a girl's school. 

The methods of discipline which I mentioned as 
having been questioned, all arise out of this principle 
of having a common conscience ; and these objections 
I will now briefly consider. 

Mr A. has an oflice of superintendent of conduct, in- 
cluding attitude, appearances of inattention, &c. This 
is delegated to scholars, selected for the day, whom 
sometimes he chooses himself, and sometimes the 
scholars choose, and to whom the whole always agree, 
promising to submit without complaint to any punish- 
ments Mr. Alcott may found on their judgments ; ex- 
perience having proved to them that this office generally 
creates that sense of responsibility which makes the 
marks strictly just, especially as they know that Mr. 
Alcott always reserves a right of judgment, over and 
above that of the superintendents. Of this office, I 



266 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

was very jealous at first. I predicted various evils. 
But the result lias proved that Mr. Alcott was right in 
expecting from it excellent effects. The worst boys, 
when put into that office, become sci'upulouslyjust, and 
get an idea of suj^erintending themselves, which nothing 
else can give them. 

General discussion of the conduct of individual 
scholars is also another method of discipline, arising 
out of the principle of forming a common conscience. 
The objections to this course are obvious; and I have 
felt some, though not those usually urged. And, with 
respect to the objections I made, I cannot say that any 
positive evil has been done, while I must admit that 
positive good does certainly arise. A degree of honesty, 
simplicity, self-surrender, and general acknowledgment 
of a standard of_ action beyond the control of any 
individual, are produced, such as no other school in the 
land, I will venture to say, can show ; while all false 
pretensions, vanity, and self-exaltation are completely 
taken down. Some persons have thought vanity was 
cherished in the school ; but I think there can be no 
greater mistake. The first dis])lay of a new scholar is 
that of all his vanity, and this is so uniformly the case 
that the development is quite amusing to a constant 
spectator. But this blossom is indeed short-lived. It 
soon falls, and the germ of a sober estimate of himself 
appears. In short, there can be no doubt at all that 
the immediate effect of this part of Mr. Alcott's j^lan 
is favorable to self-knowledge and humility, when the 
scholars compare themselves with one another. It 



EXPLANATORY. 26T 

has been said that the children are vain of the school, 
and think it the only place where the right metliod 
is pursued, and that they are the only persons in the 
world who have the right standard, &c. A sort of 
party spirit about a school is not uncommon with 
children, especially when there is any thing peculiar in 
the school. And if this is stronger than usual in this 
instance, it must be said, in defence of the children, 
that they often hear the most absurd misrepresentations 
of it, and of Mr. Alcott, from people who judge without 
knowino- the truth : and the wildest criticisms and in- 
quiries concerning it, from those who are inclined to 
take marvellous views of it. They often tell Mr. Alcott 
that people do not understand him or his school. And 
this is perfectly true. However, let the case be as it 
may, if the children overrate the school while they are 
in it, they are so much more liable to receive all its 
advantages ; and they will soon be undeceived after 
they have left it. 

Having spoken thus elaborately of the school, with 
respect to its princij^les and methods of moral culture, 
I will proceed to speak of it with respect to its intel- 
lectual effects ; and here, I for one have never had any 
doubts in any particular. I think it can be proved a 
priori and a posteriori that the intellectual influences 
are in all respects salutary. 

In the first place, the cultivation of attention as a 
moral duty, with the constant exposition of all which 
interferes with it in instinctive habits, is of the first 
importance to the intellectual life. The mode in which 



268 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

this state of mind is cultivated is not merely tliat of 
stating it as a duty, but stating it as a duty after hav- 
ing used all the resources of his own and others' genius 
to attract and reward their attention. When a child 
has been led to enjoy his intellectual life in any way, 
and then is made to observe whence his enjoyment has 
arisen, he can feel and understand the argument of 
duty which may be urged in favor of attention. Those 
who commonly instruct children would be astonished 
to witness the degree of attention which Mr. Alcott 
succeeds in obtaining from his scholars constantly. 
Indeed the majority of adults might envy them. It is, 
generally speaking, complete, profound, and as contin- 
uous as any would wish the attention of children to be. 
The first object of investigation is also in the highest 
degree fruitful for the intellect. Spirit as it appears 
within themselves, whether in the form of feeling, law, 
or thought, is universally interesting. No subject in- 
terests children so much as self-analysis. To give name 
to inward movements of heart and mind, whether in 
themselves or others, is an employment of their ficul- 
ties which will enchain the attention of the most vola- 
tile. There is no one class of objects in external 
Nature which interests all children ; for children are 
very differently gifted with respect to their sympathies 
with Nature. But all are conscious of something within 
themselves which moves, thinks, and feels; and as a 
mere subject of curiosity, and of investigation for the 
sake of knowledge, it may take place of all others. In 
order to investigate it, a great many things must be 



EXPLANATORY. 269 

done which are in themselves very agreenhle. Mr. 
Alcott reads and tells stories calculated to excite vari- 
ous moral emotions. On these stories he asks questions, 
in order to bring out from each, in Avords, the feelings 
which have been called forth. These feelings receive 
their name, and history and place in the moral scale. 
Then books and passages from books are read, calcu- 
lated to exercise various intellectual faculties, such as 
perception, imagination, judgment, reason, conscience ; 
and these various exercises of mind are discriminated 
and named. There can be no intellectual action more 
excellent than this, whether we consider the real exer- 
cise given to the mind, or its intrinsic interest to the 
children, and consequently the naturalness of the ex- 
ercise. And its good influence wath respect to prepar- 
ing for the study of science is literally incalculable. 
There is not a single thing that cannot be studied with 
comparative ease by a child who can be taught wdiat 
fliculties he must use, and how they are to be brought 
to bear on the subject, and what influence on those 
faculties the subject will have after it is mastered. 

But Mr. Alcott would not sequestrate children from 
Nature, even while this preparatory study of spirit is 
SCoins: on. He would be very thankful to throw all the 
precious influences of a country life, its rural employ- 
ments, its healthful recreations, its beautiful scenery, 
around his scholars' minds. He thinks that the forms 
of Nature, as furniture for the imagination and an ad- 
dress to the sentiments of wonder and beauty, and also 
as a delight to the eye and as models for the pencil, 



270 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

cannot be too early presented, or too lovingly dwelt 
upon. In lieu of these circumstances, which of course 
cannot be procured in Boston, he reads to them of all 
in Nature which is calculated to delight the imagina- 
tion and heart. He surrounds them also with statuary 
and pictures in his school-room; and he has drawing 
taught to all his scholars by a gentleman * who prob- 
ably possesses the spirit of art more completely than 
any instructor who has ever taught in this country. 

And in the lessons on words in the spelling, reading, 
and grammatical exercises, on which the intellectual 
benefits of Mr. Alcott's school are mainly based, if the 
spiritual part of language is dwelt on so much both as 
a means and as an effect of the study of the spirit 
within, yet the names of external objects as external, 
and the technical terms of art, are not necessarily ex- 
cluded. A great deal of knowledge of things is con- 
veyed in this way, and attention is more and more 
directed to this part of language as scholars continue 
at the school, and need less and less exclusive conver- 
sation on the subjects appertaining to moral discipline. 

The more scientific study of Nature, also, Mr. Alcott 
thinks has its place in education ; and he would gladly 

* Mr. Francis Graeter : who has in contemplation to pubhsh a 
work developing the whole art of drawing, especially from Nature, 
m the same way as he has often done orally to such pupils as have 
received the most benefit from him ; and more completely than he 
could do' in a course of desultory lessons, — more completely than 
has ever been done in a book for learners. We hope nothing 
will prevent nor delay this great desideratum to all lovers of the 
pencil. 



EXPLANATORY. 271 

have it pursued in his school, although the age of 
his scholars, together with his views as to what ought 
to be taught first, throw natural science out of his 
course, excepting what is included in the study of 
Language, Geography, and Arithmetic, on the plans 
mentioned in the Record. Is it, however, peculiar to 
his school, that attainments in the natural sciences are 
not made at the age of twelve ? Will not most persons 
admit that, however difficult soul-analysis may be, it is 
still more difficult for children to seize science, Avhich 
is " Nature in the abstract ; " and are not the laws of 
the Eternal Spirit, displayed in external nature, far more 
abstracted from their own consciousness than are those 
emotions and moral laws to which Mr. Alcott so often 
directs their attention ? There is not a little illusion 
on this subject of science. If children learn the names 
of the stars ; if they gather flowers into herbariums ; 
and stones and minerals and shells and insects into 
cabinets ; and witness some experiments in chemistry, 
it is supposed that they have studied the sciences. But 
all this is child's play ; or, at best, only useful for the 
healthful bodily exercise which is sometimes involved 
in making herbariums and cabinets. Astronomy does 
not consist of the heavenly bodies, but of their laws of 
motion and relations to each other; nor chemistry 
of the earthly substances of which it treats, but of their 
laws of combination and means of analysis. In short, 
nothing need be said to prove that it is absurd to 
attempt to teach the sciences to children under twelve 
years old. They should be led to Nature for the 



272 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

picturesque and for poetry, not for the purpose of 
scientific analysis and deduction. They should look 
upon its synthesis as sacred. The time will come when 
they may explore it, as God's means for aiding and 
completing the building up of their own intellect ; and 
it is a positive moral injury to them to study it while 
they are too young to understand this object. My 
readers may smile, and yet it is true, that in teaching 
geometry I have been in the habit of so presenting it 
to the minds of my pupils, that fretting and passion, 
when occasioned by the difficulty of mastering a de- 
monstration of those laws by which the Creator consti- 
tuted the universe, could easily be checked by a single 
word reminding them that it was the Creator's mind 
we were studying. Is"othing can be more blessed than 
the influence of this view, when connected, as it should 
be, with benignant views of the Deity, as the all-cher- 
ishing and all-animating Father of our spirits. Mr. 
Alcott says, — Let children sketch fi-om Nature, culti- 
vate flowers, cherish animals, keep shells and pretty 
stones; but defer the study of N"atural Philosophy, 
Botany, "Zoology, Conchology, Mineralogy, &c., till after 
they have learned those principles of arrangement which 
are to be found within the soul, and which are nearer 
and more easily apprehended than any natural science. 
And is not this rational ? 

Also, if Mr. Alcott does not pretend to teach the 
natural sciences, he does what will ultimately prove of 
the highest service to scientific education, in giving his 
scholars the habit of weiohins^ the meanino- and consid- 



EXPLANATORY, 273 

ering the comparative force of words. A long prepara- 
tion of this kind for the study of the sciences is fully 
made up in the ease with which any science is mas- 
tered, by a previous knowledge of words. Time is 
wasted to an incalculable extent, in common educa- 
tion, and even in self-education, on account of our want 
of precision in the ideas we attach to words, which are 
too fo miliar to our ear for us to reahze that we do not 
clearly understand them. A great effort is made to 
remember lessons, and then they are forgotten. Per- 
haps those are the soonest forgotten which it' is the 
greatest effort to remember. But if the study is chosen 
with reference to tlie state of the mind, and the words 
of the lesson are perfectly understood, there need be no 
effort of mere memory. A clear and vivid conception, 
together with actual growth of mind, is remembered 
involuntarily. Nothing is more common than to con- 
found intellectual labor with drill. Yet nothing can 
be more different than these. Bodily accomplish- 
ments, sleight of hand, &c., are attained by mere 
repetition ; but intellectual accomiDlishment and acute- 
ness are not attained by mere repetition of impression, 
though this is very commonly thought, but by a 
perfectly clear and vivid conception in the first place, 
dwelt upon so long that its most important relations 
may be developed, and not long enough to harass or 
weary the mind. Indeed, it is well known that repeti- 
tion of the same mental impressions may destroy tlie 
memory altogether. The laws of bodily and mental 
discipline are precisely the reverse of each other. I 



274 RECOED OF A SCHOOL. 

could deduce a thousand facts under my own observa- 
tion, to confirm this view with respect to the true 
culture of memory. 

It is not for moral education only that self-analysis 
and the study of the " truth of our nature " in Jesus 
Christ are desirable. It is no less beneficial to the intel- 
lectual education. The soul itself, when looked on as 
an object, becomes a subject of scientific classification, 
in its faculties and operations; and the consideration 
of the true principles and conduct of life is most favor- 
able to the develoj^ment of right judgment, especially 
when parallel lives, shoAving approximations to the 
ideal, or even wanderings from it, are given in con- 
nection with the study of the life of Jesus, thus afibrd- 
ing variety of illustration. Indeed, there is something 
peculiarly appropriate to the young in the study of 
Biography. But there is very little biography written 
which gives an insight into the life of the mind, and 
especially into its formation. It is only occasionally 
that we find a philosopher who can read other men's 
experience, and to whom the incidents of a life are 
transparent. But for the 23^n'poses of education there 
should be biographies of the childhood of genius and 
virtue, on the plan of Carlyle's Life of Schiller, and his 
articles on Burns and others. 

To supply the w^ant of biography, Mr. Alcott relies a 
great deal upon journal -writing, which is autobiogra- 
phy, while it hardly seems so to the writer. To learn 
to use words teaches us to appreciate their force. And, 
while Mr. Alcott presents this exercise as a means of 



EXPLANATORY. 275 

self-inspection and self-knowledge, — enabling the writ- 
ers to give unity to their own being by bringing all out- 
ward facts into some relation with their indiAiduality, 
and gathering up fragments which would otherwise be 
lost, — he knows he is also assisting them in the art of 
composition, in a way that the rules of rhetoric would 
never do. Every one knows that a technical memory 
of words and of rules of composition gives very little 
command of language ; while a rich consciousness, a 
quick imagination, and force of feeling seem to unlock 
tlie treasury: and even so vulgar a passion as anger 
produces eloquence, and quickens perception to the 
slightest inuendo. 

Self-analysis, biography, and journal- writing, there- 
fore, since they bear upon the skilful use of language, 
are as truly the initiation of intellectual as of moral 
education. And language has always professedly stood 
in the forefront of children's studies. The ancient 
languages, although they took their place in that early 
stage of education which they now occupy, when they 
w^ere living languages, and necessary for the purpose 
of any reading whatever, have retained the same posi- 
tion, notwithstanding many disadvantages which the 
study of them at an early period has involved, mainly 
because of the good effect which has been experienced 
from the concentration of attention upon the vernacular 
words by which the Latin and Greek words are trans- 
lated ; and from the acquisition of the spirit of one's 
native tongue, by the recognition of its idioms in 
contra-distinction to those of other lano-uap-es. It 



276 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

would have a much more creative influence upon the 
faculties of tlie young, besides saving much time and 
distress, if the study of English, on Mr. Alcott's plan, 
should come first ; and that of the ancient languages 
be delayed a few years. Boys, generally speaking, 
would be better fitted for college at fourteen or fifteen, 
even in Latin and Greek, if they did not begin to learn 
them till they were twelve years old ; always providing, 
however, that they thoroughly study English by means 
of self-analysis, poetry, and religious revelation up to 
that time. 

Mr. Alcott, it is true, has Latin taught in his school 
with reference to fitting boys for the other schools ; and 
it does not interfere with the prosecution of his own 
plans, since his assistant has long been in the habit of 
teaching it with reference to such results as he secures 
by his exercises on English words. 

These observations on the intellectual bearings of 
the study of language will explain much that is peculiar 
in Mr. Alcott's school. And it will show that the intel- 
lectual results are never separated from the moral, and 
consequently never neglected. Gradually self-knowl- 
edge becomes psychology; knowledge of language, 
grammar ; and the practice of composition leads to the 
true principles of rhetoric. Even if, by removal from 
the school, these results are not attained under his 
immediate observation, he cannot doubt that they 
will surely follow, from the principles which he sets 
in operation. 

But I am frequently asked. Will children ever be 



EXPLANATORY. 277 

willing to study from books, who have been educated 
by Mr. Alcott ? I have always answered to this ques- 
tion, and I w^ill here repeat, that they will study from 
books more intelligently, thoroughly, and profoundly, 
just in proportion as they imbibe the spirit of his in- 
structions ; for they will have a clearly defined object 
w^henever they open a book, and the beautiful things 
Mr. Alcott constantly reads to them have a tendency 
to make them feel what treasures are locked up in 
books. Yet they may not be bookworms. They learn 
that there are other sources of knowledge, and espe- 
cially that thought is the chief source of wisdom. 
There is much illusion concerninfy children's readino^: 
the book-devouring which is frequently seen nowadays 
in children is of no advantage to them. There is a 
great deal in the sj^irit of that maxim of Aquinas, 
" Read one book to be learned." Mr. Alcott's scholars 
may show less interest than some other children in the 
miserable juvenile literature which cheats so many poor 
little things into the idea that they know the sciences, 
history, biography, and the creations of the imagina- 
tion ; and, if it be so, it is a blessing to their minds. 
But many of the parents of the children have told me 
that they read over and over again at home the books 
of classical literature which he reads to them in schooL 
And what can be finer than this effect ? 

Nor is the study of books excluded from the school. 
This is so common a mistake with respect to Mr. Al- 
cott's plan, that perhaps I could not do better than to 
enter into some details respecting the precise manner 



278 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

in which the stnclyin.:: from books in its various depart- 
ments is coudiictecl. In the first phice, with respect to 

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

As the analysis of English words into letters, and the 
unfolding of the meanings contained in them, constitute 
the foundation of an English education, spelling and 
defining words are the most prominent intellectual 
exercises of the school. The children learn the spell- 
ing-lesson by writing the given number of words on 
their slates, or in manuscript books, with pencils; 
those who do not yet write the script hand print, or 
endeavor to print them. The spelling-book they use 
is Pike's, wdiich was selected because it contains the 
primitive words of the language, together with such 
derivatives as are roots in relation to other words. But 
a spelling-book containing the roots of the language, 
and nothing more, is yet a desideratum with us, which 
Mr. Alcott hopes to supjjly, when he gets leisure to 
study the Anglo-Saxon language, whence the life of 
our tongue undoubtedly springs. 

After writing the words, the children spell them to 
themselves ; and when they think they can arrange the 
letters rightly, they look out their meanings in their 
Johnson's Dictionaries, a copy of which is placed at 
each desk. They are also directed to imagine sentences 
in which the words can be used, or to remember any 
sentences which contain them, that they may have 
heard or read. Those who are too young to manage a 
bulky dictionary, Mr. Alcott orally teaches, as may be 



EXPLANATOllY. 279 

seen m the Record. Gi-aniinatical exercises, wliich con- 
sist of the analysis of sentences and the cLissification 
of words according to their meanings, also constitute 
a regular exercise. Children soon become expert in 
abstracting and .classifying words in this way, although 
quite unacquainted with the technicalities of grammat- 
ical science. 

And is not this the true way of beginning to study 
the p-rammar of one's native tons-ue ? Is it not indis- 
putable that in all sciences the principle of the classifi- 
cation should be understood before the nomenclature 
is presented ? But in none is it so indispensable as in 
the science of grammar, whose very material requires 
an effort of abstraction in order to be apprehended, 
and whose nomenclature is rendered peculiarly haixl 
on account of the obsolete, the foreign, and the awk- 
wardly figurative words it contains. To the latinized 
scholars who first made English Grammar a science, it 
undoubtedly explained itself, and assisted the mind in 
acquisition, as the nomenclature of chemistry does. 
But to children of the present day it interferes with the 
progress of acquisition by seeming so entirely extra- 
neous to the subject in hand. Were it not for the con- 
venience of understanding the grammars of foreign 
languages, it would be better to give it all up. But 
since there is no other universal language of gram- 
mar, a middle course can be taken, and the English 
grammar may be taught according to a more lively 
classification and in a more lively language ; and the 
nomenclature of Universal Grammar be tauoht as a 



280 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

separate affair. This is what Mr. Alcott endeavors 
to do. 

GEOGKAPHY. 

Geography was at first taught on Mr. Carter's plan ; 
but as it succeeded less in interesting these children 
than the other lessons, we soon laid it aside, determined 
to think out another method which might combine 
more advantages; and the one adopted seemed to 
work well, notwithstanding we were at some disad- 
vantage on account of the difficulty of collecting books 
and pictures for our purpose. 

The whole school being resolved into one class, they 
received three conversation-lectures a week on Geog- 
raphy. The first three lectures consisted of a descrip- 
tion of the solar system addressed to the picturesque 
imagination. They were called on to imagine them- 
selves placed in the centre of the sun ; and to picture 
the scene presented to the eye, supposing that organ 
strong enough to look through and beyond Ilerschel. 
The discipline of Mr. Alcott's readings and their good 
habits of attention rendered these conversations very 
successful, as we found when they were called on to 
describe the scene themselves. The forces that produce 
circular motion were illustrated, and thus all the astron- 
omy which such children could well comprehend was 
set forth. At the third lecture, Bryant's " Song of 
the Stars" was read, which very much interested them 
as they were called to shape in their minds all the 
imagery. 

Having given an idea of the solar system, the earth 



EXPLANATORY. 281 

was approiiclied more nearly, and its atmosplierc con- 
sidered They were led to imagine the clouds which 
han- in the atmosphere as they would appear to a 
persmi coming to our earth from another planet. And, 
to illustrate this, extracts were read from books de- 
scribin..- the clouds as they appear from mountams, 
when Uiey hang below the summits. Descendmg 
upon the sm-face of the earth, we observed on what 
principle it was divided into zones. And the charac- 
teristic vegetation, &c., of each zone was dwelt upon, 
in a lecture devoted to the purpose. The mountain 
scenery of the various parts of the globe was next 
considered; and descriptions of remarkable scenes 
among mountains were selected from such books of 
travefs as we could procure, among which Humboldt s 
was found most interesting. Having proceeded thus 
far the pupils were set to drawing the outlmes of the 
four quarters of the globe, and required to indicate the 
mountainous parts. 

As it is very difficult to draw these outlmes, on 
account of their irregularity, it required repeated trials, 
which occupied them day after day. But it is obvious 
that in constantly looking upon the maps, in order to 
draw these outlines, a great deal will be le.arned from 
them Warning was constantly given, however, lest 
the impressions on the imagination, left by the descrip- 
tions that were read, should be lost, by dwelling on 
such an inadequate representation of the green and 
flowery valleys, the snow-clad and forest-cmctured 
mountains, and the rock-bound coasts of the magmfi- 



282 RECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

cent ocean, as a mere map must necessarily be. The 
scholars commenced drawing outlines on the black- 
board ; but as fast as they are prepared for it, Mr. 
Alcott gives tliem manuscript books, in which tliey 
draw maps, and write whatever they can learn of the 
countries. 

Lakes and rivers naturally come next to mountains 
as striking features of the earth's surface. These aiford 
fine scope for picturesque description and illustration. 
The waters of our own country are so magnificent that 
they have attracted much attention. Flint's Valley of 
the Mississippi, Irving's Tour in the Prairies, occasional 
passages in Audubon's Ornithological Biography, &c., 
afi*ord much aid to this portion of the course. Engrav- 
ings and paintings too, of the river and lake scenery of 
many parts of the world, can be procured. When the 
children come to draw these lakes and rivers, of which 
they have seen pictures, or with which they associate 
scenes of human life from the journals of travellers and 
naturalists, they will find it much more easy to remem- 
ber their names, than if they have no other idea than a 
mere black line may convey. It is not impossible, also, 
for the instructor to assist the young imagination to 
take bird's-eye views of the rivers and lakes of a conti- 
nent, by suggesting to them to look down as from a 
balloon upon the earth, and see how these rivers flow 
from the mountains, mingle togetlier, and find the sea. 

The ocean then becomes the object of study; its 
proportion to the land and its general characteristics. 
Parts of Mr. Greenwood's article on the sea were read 



EXPLANATORY, 283 

from tlie Token ; and descriptions of striking sea scenes- 
from various books, especially beautiful scenes of the 
troi)ical seas. Here some account was naturally given 
of the first attempts to explore the ocean; of the 
voyages of Columbus, and of other discoverers ; and 
the boys were recommended to read at home Cook's 
Voyages. The more a human interest is thrown over 
external objects, the more easily they can be remem- 
bered ; and therefore the narratives of voyagers are so 
important. Descriptions of whale-catching, seal-catch- 
ing, i^earl-diving, &c., were found very useful when 
brought into these lessons upon the ocean. 

Columbus' Journal of his first voyage, which gives us 
beautiful descriptions of the West India Islands, and 
Irving's two works, were read ; the intention being to 
give a very complete idea of all the shores of the sea. 
There was much difiiculty, however, in obtaining infor- 
mation for this part of the course. It would be very 
convenient if a book were to be made containing a 
description of the coasts and harbors all over the 
world ; and of the sea-ports, Avith their commercial 
relations. And would not this be the best practical 
geography for boys? 

During the whole of the course, it is intended that 
the drawing of maps should be continued, and all the 
natural features of the earth indicated. The last part 
of geography studied should be the arbitrary divisions 
made by human polities. By associating this, however, 
with the history of nations, as the other j^arts of geog- 
raphy were associated with natural history anct biogra- 



284 RECOB.D OF A SCHOOL. 

phy, it will be more easily remembered, and those 
parts of the world will be best known which it is the 
most important to know accurately. When these 
political divisions are considered, the children can draw 
them on their maps, and indicate the places of the 
towns. 

Is it not obvious that geography studied in this way 
might put into the mind some adequate conception of 
the face of the earth? while the common plan fails to 
touch the imagination, and terminates in little more 
than a knowledge of maps, which is not sufficiently in- 
teresting to be retained in the memory. For it is a fact, 
wdiich every thoughtful teacher must have observed, 
that little is permanently remembered which does not 
touch the heart or interest the imagination. Years are 
given by children to the study of geography, and yet 
scarcely any person retains an accurate recollection of 
the relations of places to each other beyond their 
school-days, so as to dispense with the constant use of 
a map. It would not be so, if the thoughts wandered 
over the real earth, with all its pomp and garniture, 
instead of being fastened to that linear hieroglyphic, 
the much-lauded map ; which is perhaps a necessary 
evil, but certainly is an evil, when it precludes the 
mind from forming w^ithin itself a real picture of the 
original. Beauty and magnificence are inspirations, 
and secure the constant recurrence of the mind to and 
lingering of the thoughts over whatever flict they 
associate themselves with ; and enable us to leani it by 
hearty — which very phrase, like most of our idioms, is 



EXPLANATORY. 285 

full of spiritual philosophy. Why, then, should not 
these associations be brought to the aid of memory in 
attaining a knowledge of geography? 

LATIN. 

About a third of the school were formed into a 
Latin class, immediately on its commencement; and 
an hour a day was set apart for Latin lessons, and that 
portion of time was always given to it. When only 
three lessons a week were given, more than an horn- 
was assigned. 

They commenced by learning a portion of the His- 
toria Sacra, w^ith the English, thus : the first phrase 
was translated to the whole class, and each was called 
on to repeat it. By the time each, all round, had re- 
peated it once, all had learned it by heart. At the end 
of each sentence, and of each paragraph, the whole was 
reviewed. In three months, one little girl, under seven 
years of age, had learned sixteen sections. Some who 
then began Latin, or who were absent a good deal, or 
were not so quick to learn, did not accomplish more 
than two. But all learned thoroughly all they studied, 
spelling and defining every word, even into the dis- 
criminations of grammar. 

At the same time there were parallel lessons in 
grammar. They learned the paradigms of the regular 
conjugations, though not within the first three months; 
and could parse verbs in the course of six months. 
They also learned to discriminate the parts of speech, 
and had various grammatical exercises, corresponding as 



286 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

much as possible to Mr. Alcott's lessons in English 
Grammar. Besides these, some of the older, brighter, 
or more advanced children wrote the exercises in 
Leverett's Latin Tutor upon the conjugations and 
declensions. 

It is but justice to myself, however, to state that this 
plan of teaching Latin was not exactly according to my 
own ideal; but was adoj^ted because it was the best 
one that could be pursued in the circumstances, more 
especially with relation to the circumstance that the 
learners were not to be continued in Mr. Alcott's 
school to fit for college, but were to be removed from 
it to other schools, with whose methods some harmony 
must be kept up, for the' sake of not puzzling the chil- 
dren. The above exercises are very good to precede the 
discipline of the Boston Grammar School, for instance ; 
and will be found not an undesirable introduction to 
the methods pursued in that very great improvement 
upon classical education, — the school kept in Boston 
by Mr. Henry Cleveland and Mr. Edmund Gushing. 

But it would be my method — a method I have my- 
self pursued in some instances with pupils of my own 
school, whose education has been entirely confided to 
me — to wait until the pupil had been well trained in 
all such exercises in English as Mr. Alcott begins with, 
and then to commence Latin by presenting the theory 
of the language to the imagination. 

Tlie classical languages admit of being so presented ; 
for they are works of art, — splendid exhibitions of the 
plastic genius which is manifest in every production of 



EXPLANATORY. 287 

the Greek and Roman mind. Sound was looked upon 
by the Latins as a material, and the very element of air 
was hewn and carved into harmonious and beautiful 
forms, to give outness to the movements and modifica- 
tions of their thought. In modern languages, words 
are, as it were, shapeless, elemental blocks : every modi- 
fication of thought requires a separate j^iece to express 
it. The accessory and auxiliary ideas to the action and 
object stand around them, like the attendants on a 
savage king, without uniformity of dress, or trained 
step and air. But the Latin language may be consid- 
ered the architecture of sound, the theme-syllables of 
the verb or the noun being the blocks of articulate air, 
representing the unmodified action or object, which 
come out of the Roman mouth defined in form as 
with a graver's tool, every stroke of which expresses 
another shade of thought. And if the accidents of 
these main subjects of discourse require new blocks 
of material, yet even these are all subordinated, and 
obliged to present themselves in a correspondent form 
to the words they qualify, or for which they stand. The 
communication of this theory immediately arrests the 
learner's mind, and fixes his attention upon those tables 
of terminations, which it is generally such weary work 
for the memory to master. 

Having communicated this theory, I would, in the 
next place, present tables of the terminations of the 
verbs, choosing the most regular to begin with; but 
while the pupils are learning them, and those variations 
of meaning which they indicate, I should take some 



288 BECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

author of the Augustan age (I have sometimes begun 
with the Bucolics of Virgil), and teach translation by 
word of mouth. For I am sure it will be found that 
the meanings of words may be fastened on the memory 
by the teacher's being the dictionary a great deal more 
quickly and effectively than by the use of a lexicon : 
the animating influence of the teacher's mind, in trac- 
ing the history of the word from its material root into 
its imaginative applications; in associating its sound 
with its English derivations, whenever there are any ; 
in opening the learner's mind to the appropriate- 
ness of the author's present apj^lication of it, which 
may be always shown in a real classic author; and, 
finally, in leading him to observe its euphonious loca- 
tion in the sentence, — an object so constantly kept 
in view by the Latin authors, whether of prose or 
poetry, — is all powerful to keep the acquiring mind of 
the learner in that cheerfulness, good-will, and vivid- 
ness of imagination, which are essential to readiness and 
retentiveness of memory. And while, by means of the 
vocabulary thus attained, there may be perpetual exer- 
cises of the knowledge gained by the tables of termina- 
tions, .a ground- work is forming for parsing lessons of a 
more philoso])hical character. As soon as a passage 
of fifty lines has been thus learned with the English 
meanings, the teacher must begin to explain the theory 
of case, and show what general relations are indicated 
by the several changes discriminated in the grammar 
by the terms nominative, genitive, dative, fee, the force 
of which technical words is involved in such an explana- 



EXPLANATORY. 289 

tion. Then the syntactical rules should be taken up 
and each word explained, and the pupil required to 
find out, by means of the English sense (which he has 
learned by heart), whether any words in the passage 
before him aiford instances of its application. If chil- 
dren have been well exercised, beforehand, in the analy- 
sis of English, and have learned the various force of 
English prepositions, the parsing of Latin substantives 
will be learned with great rapidity and thoroughness 
in this way, long before the tables of terminations are 
presented, — which are so great a tax to the memory, 
and so httle assistance, after all, in determining the case 
of a word. These tables of terminations, however, can 
be given at last ; and will have their use, especially as 
applied to the adjectives and other subordinate parts 
of speech. 

The successful pursuit of this method requires several 
conditions, however. In the first place it requires pre- 
vious discipline in the English language, — a discipline 
which, even on Mr. Alcott's method, could seldom be 
completed before a boy was nine years of age, if he 
began at six or seven. It would also require the best 
and freshest hours of the day; and must be the main 
object of the student's attention for a time, with some 
degree of freedom in the use of his voice to help his 
ear. With these conditions, there are few boys of ten 
or twelve years of age who might not learn so much 
Latin in a year as to be able to read with facility, and 
without farther teaching, all the Latin books prepara- 
tory to college life. Farther teaching on- collateral sub- 

19 



290 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

jects would indeed be useful ; and that higher teaching 
might be appreciated, which consists in discriminating 
the characteristic styles of authors, by an observation 
of those relations with which his mind is most familiar, 
indicated by his favorite syntactical and etymological 
rules of construction. 

ARITHMETIC. 

Arithmetic was taught from the opening of the 
school. The younger scholars were provided with 
Fowle's Child's book of Arithmetic, and the older ones 
with Colburn's First Lessons, and learned lessons in 
them ; though those who studied Latin had but little 
time for Arithmetic, and did not make any great 
progress. 

Besides this, a course of lessons on numeration, and 
the fundamental rules of ciphering, were given by 
means of the blackboard to the whole school, in lec- 
tures. These were very useful, but it was found that, 
generally speaking, the children were not skilled enough 
in mental Arithmetic to have it any advantage to pro- 
ceed further in ciphering. 

GEOMETRY. 

A small class in Grund's Geometry was foi*med also 
a few months after the school began. But as the chil- 
dren were rather young for it, and had so many other 
studies, it was finally laid aside, to be resumed when 
there is good reason for it. 



EXPLANATORY. 291 



COMPOSITION. 



From the foregoing remarks it will be evident that 
book-learning is not entirely neglected by Mr. Alcott. 
Yet it is true that he lays himself out rather to prepare 
his scholars to receive it after they have left him, than to 
give it to them himself, at the early age when they are 
under his own care. His main object is to produce activ- 
ity of mind, and taste for intellectual pursuits. And for 
the purpose of activity he uses one means which is 
very much neglected in common schools ; and that is, 
he leads them to express their thoughts on paper, as 
soon as they can write the script hand so as to be read. 

Several of his pupils commenced their journals as 
soon as they came ; but it was some time before these 
became any record of the inward life. The children 
were entirely unused to comiX)sition, and at first only 
set down the most dry and uninteresting circumstances. 

Mr. Alcott, however, contented himself with express- 
ing the hope that by and by we should have more 
thoughts mingled with the record of facts; and he 
made no criticisms on the language, or even on the 
spelling; knowing that courage is easily checked, in 
these first efforts, by criticism ; and wishing to produce 
a sense of freedom as a condition of free expression. 
He did not expect interesting views from them, until 
their minds were more thoroughly trained to self-in- 
spection and inward thought. He has little rehance on 
any method of producing the impulse to composition, 
except the indirect one of leading children to think 



292 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

vividly and consecutively, which leads of itself to ex- 
pression. And still less has he any reliance upon the 
power of a composition which was not the result of an 
inward im23ulse. A mere mechanical exercise leads to 
a tame and feeble style, which it is a misfortune to 
acquire, and which generates no desire to write more ; 
but it is spontaneous to endeavor to express energeti- 
cally what one feels vividly and conceives clearly : and 
any degree of success in this inspires ardor for new 
attempts. 

Instructors are not, perhaps, aware how much the art 
of composition is kept from being developed in chil- 
dren, by petty criticism. Children have a great deal to 
contend with, in the attempt to express their thoughts. 
In the first place, they find it more difiicult than better 
trained minds do, to preserve their thoughts in their 
memory. For the mechanical labor of holding the pen, 
of seeing to the spelling, of pointing, and all such 
details, interferes with the purely mental efibrt. And 
even when all this is mastered, and they express original 
thought, it is like putting out a part of themselves ; and 
they are intensely alive to its reception, in proportion 
to its real originality ; and if it is misunderstood, or its 
garb criticised, they shrink more than they would at a 
rude physical touch, and will be very much tempted to 
suppress their own thoughts, on another occasion, and 
only attempt the commonplaces, for which they have 
heard expressions. 

For there seems to be in all finely attempered spirits 
a natural modesty, sometimes even a shrinking delicacy, 



EXPLANATORY. 298 

which instinctively forbids exposure of the invisible 
exercises of the mind and heart, except to the eye of a 
generous liberality and a tender love; and it is only 
time for reflection and a fully realized laith which gives 
the strength of mind that may separate the sense of 
personality from the expression of general truth and 
beauty, and make clear and possible to them the duty 
of reposing on the intrinsic worth of what is said, and 
at all events frankly to express themselves. 

And is there not a beautiful cause for the modesty 
of childhood and genius? Is not the ideal, in these 
instances, more vivid, to which their own actual crear- 
tion is so painful a contrast that, if they are forced to 
attend to the discrepancy, they are discouraged? It 
has been remarked that the first essays of high genius 
are seldom in perfect taste, but exhibit " the dispro- 
portions of the ungrown giant." This can be easily 
explained. Genius is apt to feel most deeply the in- 
finite, and, never losing sight of even those connections 
which it does not express, is unaware of the imperfec- 
tions of what is seen by others, which is only a part of 
what is created in its own being. But if left to a 
natural development, and unhindered by internal moral 
evil, the mind always works itself out to perfect forms ; 
while premature criticism mildews the flower, and blasts 
the promised fruit. 

This case of genius is not irrelevant. Intellectual 
education, as an art, is an embodiment of all- those laws 
and means which the development of genius manifests 
to be the best atmosphere for the production of creative 



294 RECORD OF A SCHOOL. 

power. For all minds are to be cherished by the same 
means by which genius is developed. In the first place, 
we never know but we have genius to deal with among 
our pupils, and should therefore always make our plan 
with reference to it ; knowing that the smallest degree 
of mind is also benefited in its due proportion by the 
discipline which brings out the highest, and is certainly 
quenched by those processes from which genius suffers. 
It would not perhaps be going too far to say that the 
period of school education is too early a period for criti- 
cism on any original production. There is only one 
fault which may be excepted from this rule, and that is 
affectation ; a style which proceeds from want of the 
sentiment of truth. Even this, however, should not be 
taken up as a literary blunder, but as moral evil, of 
which it is an expression, quite as much as affectation 
of manners, and want of veracity. 

The objections made against the intellectual influ- 
ences of Mr. Alcott's school, by those who do not know 
much about it, are chiefly of the negative character, 
which the foregoing pages have attempted to answer. 
There is one, however, of a positive character, on which 
I wish to make some observations, and then I shall 
close this protracted essay. 

It is said that Mr. Alcott cultivates the imagination 
of his scholars, inordinately, by leading them to the 
works of the poets, and to the prose creations of such 
writers as Krummacher, Bunyan, Carova, &c. It is 
thought that by exercising the minds of the children 



EXPLANATORY. 295 

in following authors of this class; requiring them to 
picture out all the imagery of their language; and 
leading them to consider, also, the inward life which 
this imagery is intended to symbolize, the energy of 
the imagination is increased. But I apprehend that all 
this is but guiding the imagination, freeing it from the 
dominion of the senses and passions, and placing it 
under its true lawgiver, — the idea of beauty ; and that 
it does not increase its natural energy, which is always 
a gift of Nature. The decision does not lie with us 
whether there shall be imagination or not; or what 
degree of it there shall be. It exists equally energetic, 
whether cultivated or not. It presides over the sports 
of childhood just in the same ratio as that of the spirit 
to the body of the child. It acts in every walk of the 
most prosaic business. The victims of uncultivated 
imagination are all around us, — in the wild specu- 
lators of commercial life ; in the insane pursuers .of 
outward goods, to the destruction of all inward peace ; 
in the fanatics of all sects of religion, and all parties of 
politics, and all associations for general objects. Noth- 
ing is to be gained by neglecting to use this faculty, or 
by omitting to give name to its movements, or by 
checking the soul's natural tendency to gratify it. 
Could w^e succeed in doing this, yet events would wake 
it up from its slumber, and might do so at any time ; 
and it will be all the more liable to deem itself some 
god or demon from the hidden world, because it does 
not understand itself. To cultivate the imagination is 
rather to disarm its energy than to increase it ; but in 



296 RECORD OF A SCHOOL, 

lieu of mere energy, cultivation gives beauty, safety, 
and elevating influences to all its movements. 

But Mr. Alcott has no intention of cultivating one 
faculty more than another. His plan is to follow 
the natural order of the mind. He begins with ana- 
lyzing the speech the children use. In doing this, 
they are led immediately to consider the action of the 
imagination, since it is this faculty which has formed 
language. We find that language clothes thoughts 
and emotions with the forms of nature, — its staple 
being the imagery of outward nature, as truly as the 
staple of sculptures and paintings is the material of 
outward nature, and all are Psyche's drapery. Mr. 
Alcott asks a child questions, in order to turn his 
attention upon what passes within his own mind ; and 
what the child says, when making this inward survey, 
will determine what faculties are most active in his 
nature, for the time being. Or, if his words must be 
taken with caution, — and it is true that they sometimes 
must, since some children learn words by rote so easily, 
— his inward state can be determined, by taking a 
wide range of reading and constantly observing what 
character of books interests him most strongly. He 
will like those books best which exercise the faculties 
and feelings that are already in agreeable activity ; and 
these should be cherished and nurtured, in a full con- 
fidence that they will wake up in due time the other 
■fiiculties of the soul. Mr. Alcott, by pursuing this 
course faithfully, has found that the imagination is the 
first faculty which comes forth, leading all the others 



EXPLANATORY. 297 

in its train. He has therefore not failed to meet it, and 
give it food. If he were to give it other than the 
healthy food supphed by Nature, Providence, and that 
true Genius which embodies Nature and Providence in 
its creations ; or if he were to allow it to degenerate 
into fancy, or phantasy, or stray from the Principle of 
Beauty, which is the law of the imagination, I should 
be the last to defend it. But, wisely fed and governed, 
the imagination need not be feared. It is the concen- 
tration of profound feeling, reason, and the perception 
of outward nature into one act of the mind, and pre- 
pares the soul for vigorous effort in all the various 
departments gf its activity. 



Cambridge : Press of John Wilson and Son. 



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